


Atlantis School of Sorcery

by LadyRosalune



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, F/M, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Minor Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, One-Sided Attraction, one sided Harry Potter/OC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:29:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 81,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24826087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyRosalune/pseuds/LadyRosalune
Summary: “Seventh year brings many difficulties for the students of Hogwarts. For Sienna Sinclair, it brings a new school, new friends, and new dangers. Even as she fears for her friends at Hogwarts, Sienna must navigate a new strenuous curriculum, mysterious dreams, and the possibility of Death Eater infiltration in the last safe place for her. Oh, and boys, because hormones suck.” One-sided SiennaxHarry and mentions of GinnyxHarry.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time posting this story on AO3 but it's been posted and incomplete on FF.net for almost seven years now. Not anymore! The draft is done! I'm making some final updates and will be uploading one chapter a week until it's completed. For those of you who prefer to read stories all at once, that means the final chapter is scheduled for posting on September 19, 2020. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed finally writing the ending that I dreamt up almost a decade ago.

Prologue

"I'm not coming back to Hogwarts next year," Harry Potter said quietly. He was a tall sixteen year old boy with messy black hair, round glasses, and a thunderbolt shaped scar on his forehead. He was sitting with his best friends Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Sienna Sinclair by the Black Lake on a bright, warm day that heralded the coming of summer. Dumbledore's funeral was set for the next morning, and this was their last day at Hogwarts before the break.

Ron and Hermione glanced at each other. "Er, we expected that Harry," Ron said slowly. Ron was a tall, lanky Gryffindor with red hair and freckles, and he had been Harry's best friend since they'd met their first year. "You're going to find the Horcruxes."

"And we're going with you, Harry," Hermione added quickly. Another Gryffindor, Hermione was leaning back against a tree with a book open in her lap. Her bushy brown hair was moving restlessly in the slight breeze.

"Guys, I can't let you do that," Harry replied, his brow furrowing in frustration. "I don't want you to get hurt or anything."

Ron rolled his eyes, "Yeah, and we absolutely won't get hurt now that You-Know-Who is back and Dumbledore's dead. Face it, Harry, we're coming with you."

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "You'll need our help. Besides, there is no way you could keep us from coming."

Harry unwillingly began to smile, but it faltered. He looked over to where Sienna, a willowy Ravenclaw with soft brown hair and deep chocolaty eyes, was sitting silently staring at the lake. He watched her for a moment, waiting for her to insist on coming as well.

Hermione spoke for him, "Sienna, what about you? Aren't you coming?"

Sienna sighed. "I'm not coming back to Hogwarts next year either, but I'm also not going with you." She took a deep breath and continued, "I was accepted to Atlantis School of Sorcery for seventh year. I've already committed to going there."

Harry and Ron looked utterly bewildered, but Hermione's jaw dropped. "You were accepted to Atlantis?" She exclaimed. "I can't believe it. That's a huge honor! They hardly ever accept students in the exchange program."

Ron interrupted, looking annoyed. "Would someone please tell me what Atlantis School of Sorcery is?"

Sienna began to explain, still not making eye contact with any of them. "Atlantis School of Sorcery is the most exclusive magical school in the world. It accepts students from all over the world, though most of them tend to be from Europe and America. There really aren't very many of them to be honest. It has many of the most talented teachers in the world as well. It's my life's dream to attend there and it's finally coming true. It took months of applications and tests, but I'm officially registered for next fall. I'll take my N.E.W.T.s there too."

"Do you know which house you'll be in? They do have some sort of house system, don't they?" Harry asked, his voice too strained to be truly excited.

"Yeah, I'll be an Amazon. There are four different colleges: Amazonia, Elysium, Olympia, and Troy. Amazonia and Elysium are all female and all male respectively. Olympia and Troy are both mixed. Most exchange students become Trojans, it's really rare for one to be an Amazon."

"So did you have to try on a sorting hat?" Ron asked laughing.

"No, you're sorted based on tests you take. Don't worry though," She continued glancing over at Harry and Ron's incredulous looks. "Students don't take those exams until the end of third year. All first through third years are Trojans. The students who score particularly well on the exams join one of the other three colleges. Amazonia and Elysium are the two smallest, but Olympia is the most prestigious college. The Amazon mascot is the doe; the Elysian mascot is the leopard; the Olympians get the dragon; and the Trojans have a stallion."

The four of them continued to talk about Atlantis until lunch time. Hermione and Ron walked quickly up to the Great Hall, Hermione lecturing Ron about all the other wizarding schools in the world, while Sienna and Harry lagged behind.

"Harry," Sienna said softly. "Look, I'm sorry I can't go with you, but I just have to do this. Maybe _this_ is _my_ destiny."

Harry shrugged, but Sienna could tell he wasn't really okay. "Harry, you've been my best friend ever since we met on that first train ride to Hogwarts, please don't tune me out. This year will end and then we'll see each other again. In the meantime, you've got Hermione and Ron, not to mention the Order."

After several minutes of silence, Harry spoke, "You'll write, won't you?"

"Er, Harry, that's the thing: I can't write. There's no outside contact allowed at Atlantis. That is," she paused, considering. "Unless I can find a way around the system." With that, she was silent a moment as she rummaged in her bag. "Ah ha!" She said triumphantly, pulling a mirror out of it. She tapped it with her wand and a second mirror appeared. Sienna then linked the two mirrors together through a complex looking spell. She handed one to Harry. "I'm sorry to say, I didn't come up with this idea myself," She said smiling. "If you remember, Sirius gave you a mirror very much like that one. That, of course, means you already know how to use it."

Harry smiled at her and took the mirror. "Will you at least be staying for the wedding?" He asked, looking hopeful.

Sienna grinned at him. "Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world." Enjoying the sunlight of their last full day at Hogwarts, they walked back to castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I posted an earlier version of this a few years ago, I want to address some of the more common complaints I've gotten here.
> 
> Complaint #1: Sienna is a Mary Sue.
> 
> I understand why people say this and it was partially intentional. In my rewrite, I've tried to make her a more interesting and compelling character, but I will not apologize for making her a prodigy or best in class at Hogwarts. If you read the story, you'll find that this is a major plot arc. At least read though a few chapters before discounting her as "too perfect."
> 
> Complaint #2: Sienna is a coward and bad friend for not going with Harry.
> 
> Sigh. A couple of things here. First, Sienna started the application process for this in FIFTH YEAR. Harry only decided to drop out of school to go Horcrux hunting yesterday. Add to the timeline that attending Atlantis is Sienna's dream come true, and you should have a beginning of an understanding of why. The other big thing to point out here is that Sienna is not a Gryffindor. She never has been and never will be. Ravenclaws, like Slytherins, are known for playing the long game. Assume that you don't know what happens in DH; would you assume the entire war would be over in a year? Of course not. Sienna is preparing for another few decades of war, like last time. For that, getting a solid education at Atlantis this year is far more prudent than living in a tent for a year. If you think that's crazy and of course she should be living in a tent, then I'm glad I suppose that Gryffindors are willing to read my writing, but I hope you can put yourself in Sienna's shoes long enough to appreciate her position.
> 
> Complaint #3: Harry should not be listed as a main character
> 
> I promise you, Harry does not disappear after the first chapter. He will appear in most if not every chapter. He plays a similar role to the one Sirius plays in GoF. I include him in the tags because he's a recurring main character, Sienna talks about him even more than he appears, and because it helps people who are looking for specific sections of the fanfiction to find this story. By including Harry I make sure people know this isn't a Marauder or Next Gen fic. I'm sorry if you disagree, but I'm not forcing you to read the story so feel free to put it away if you wanted Harry to come along to Atlantis.
> 
> That's all! If you have other questions or comments, feel free to DM or comment. I hope you enjoy!


	2. The Shortest Summer

**Chapter 2: The Shortest Summer**

That last day at Hogwarts passed quickly and, all too soon, Harry and Sienna were standing on Platform 9 ¾, saying goodbye.

"So, I'll definitely see you again before you leave for Atlantis, right?" Harry asked nervously as they were about to pass through the barrier.

"Of course," Sienna replied laughing. "I'll be there to celebrate your birthday as well as Bill and Fleur's wedding." They emerged from the barrier and found themselves in the Muggle world once again. "I've got to go, Harry. My mum's over there waiting for me. I'll see you soon." With that, Sienna walked away quickly, keeping her face turned resolutely ahead to avoid Harry's sorrowful eyes.

. . .

Sienna spent the next month with her father, Sawyer Sinclair, and two younger sisters, Sylvia and Stella. Sylvia had just completed her fourth year and Stella her first, but there was a chance they would not be returning to Hogwarts next year either. Sienna's mother, Samantha, was a Muggle-born and would be in danger if Voldemort took over the Ministry of Magic. She spent most of her time doing research in South America, so if anything happened, Sawyer would take the girls to their mother. He himself, as a pureblood working at the Ministry, would stay to keep tabs on things at home. Sienna wished she could bring her sisters with her to Atlantis, but that was impossible.

Over that month, Sienna spent her time packing, studying, and looking after her sisters. She had spoken to Harry, Ron, and Hermione of the tests she had taken, but they didn't understand just how difficult and varied the tests were. Sienna had been required to take tests on everything from Ancient Runes to Transfiguration, flying to combat. She had done well enough at most of the tests to make up for deficiencies in the various forms of combat like hand-to-hand combat and archery. Besides, most of the traditional Muggle fighting styles were primarily learned by Olympians while the other colleges didn't bother with them very much. In fact, Trojans were not even required to take those courses.

The one course that was going to be a problem was Divination. The top three colleges were required to take Divination, and even Trojans were encouraged to. The problem was that Sienna hadn't taken a day of Divination in her life and, regardless, Professor Trelawney would not have been able to prepare her for the level at which the class was taught at Atlantis. Therefore, Sienna was required to get to school about a fortnight early so that she could take a remedial Divination course. Between this and the fact that Atlantis started school two weeks earlier than Hogwarts, Sienna would need to leave directly after the wedding to get to the train on time.

A week before Bill and Fleur's wedding, the Sinclairs traveled by floo powder to the Leaky Cauldron so they could purchase their school supplies. Sienna had a list of things she would need for the school year and first among them were her school robes. Unlike at Hogwarts, each college had its own uniform. The first through third years, along with the rest of the Trojans, wore black robes while the other three houses had robes based on their college colors. As an Amazon, Sienna needed dark, bronze colored robes with teal trim, showing that she was an upperclassman. Underclassman didn't have their robes trimmed in the college's secondary color.

Sienna managed to procure the robes as well as her potions ingredients, textbooks, and everything else she would need for her year at Atlantis. Rather than linger and enjoy the shops, the family left almost immediately after they finished shopping. Diagon Alley was no longer the safe, cheery place it had been before the war.

Soon it was time for Sienna's departure to the Burrow for Harry's birthday and the wedding. She had passed her Apparition exam in the spring so on the morning of July 31th, Sienna bid her family farewell and Apparated with her bags to just outside the Burrow's protective enchantments.

Sienna lugged her trunk to the door of the Burrow and knocked. Lupin's voice issued from inside. "Who's there?"

"Sienna Sinclair."

"Which question did you miss on your first Defense Against the Dark Arts test when I was your teacher?"

Sienna smiled for a moment, reminiscing, then replied, "I didn't miss a question. You took marks off because I wrote more than the maximum length on the boggart essay. Now I have to check to see if you're Lupin. What was the date when I confronted you about being a werewolf?"

She heard Lupin's breath catch before he answered, "October 17, after class. It was my first day back after my second illness, and you had seen Snape bring me my potion a few days before."

"Correct," she said softly. The door opened to reveal one of her favorite teachers of all time, looking sad. She stepped inside, longing to apologize, but couldn't; he knew why she'd had to ask. So instead, Sienna forced a smile and turned to look around the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was cooking breakfast while Tonks, Bill, and Monsieur Delacour were chatting around a table heaped with birthday presents. "Everyone else still asleep then?"

"Yeah," Lupin laughed halfheartedly.

"Good morning, Sienna, dear," Mrs. Weasley bustled over to give her a hug and placed a plate of eggs and toast onto the table in front of her. "Here's some breakfast. The others will be down before too long."

Sienna smiled and thanked the matronly woman. She decided to pull out the book she was reading while she waited for the others. She quickly became engrossed in the story as a wizard from a very different world fled across islands from a sentient shadow.

"Oh, Sienna, when did you get here?" Sienna blinked slowly up at Ron and Harry who were standing in the doorway. It took a moment for her to process where she was, having to pull her mind from her story.

"Happy birthday, Harry." She smiled gently. "I just got here this morning." She could feel her heart speed up when he smiled at her. It had been a while since she'd seen him and she wanted to hug him, but she couldn't risk letting him know how she felt. After all, he loved Ginny, and she, Sienna, would be gone for the next year. It would be wrong to make him feel guilty. Besides, she had been hiding her true feelings from both herself and him for so long, she wasn't even sure if they were real anymore.

"Thanks! I'm glad you could make it for my birthday."

Mrs. Weasley set two more plates down on the table. "Why don't you both sit down and have breakfast. Then, Sienna, you can put your stuff in Ginny's room. You will be sharing that room with her and Hermione tonight. It will be a little crowded, but we'll make it work."

Ron and Harry sat down at the table with Sienna and began eating. Sienna slipped her book back into her bag and watched as Harry began busily opening presents between bites of scrambled eggs and toast. Sienna hadn't given Harry her present yet, but she wanted to wait a little longer, until there weren't quite so many people around.

However, the kitchen was not going to empty any time soon. As the pile of presents became smaller and smaller, other people began arriving for breakfast, and, soon, the kitchen became so crowded that Harry, Ron, and Sienna decided to go upstairs.

As Sienna began to carry her trunk up to Ginny's room, Harry came up behind her and grabbed it. "Here, Sienna, can I help you with that?"

She smiled and let him take it as she instead picked up her smaller bags. The three walked upstairs, chatting happily like old times. All too soon they arrived at the correct landing. Since Harry and Sienna had their hands full, Ron knocked.

The door opened to reveal a yawning Hermione who squealed. "There you are. I was wondering when you'd get here. You've got to let me see your textbooks. The academics are so much more advanced at Atlantis. . . I hope you'll be all right. Of course you will, you're Sienna—" And Sienna stopped listening. She loved her friend, but Hermione could talk forever, and it often wasn't overly important.

"Are you gonna let us in or not?" Harry grunted, the heavy trunk still in his arms.

Hermione blushed. "Oh, of course. Here, let's make some room." She opened the door fully and set about making room for the extra cot. Harry was soon able to put down the trunk, and he did so before stretching.

Hermione had left to go get breakfast and Ron and Harry were going upstairs to their room when Ginny showed up.

"Harry," she said, catching him before he got too far up the stairs. "Can I have a word?"

Harry nodded and the two walked back into Ginny's room. Sienna grabbed Ron, who seemed about to try and follow them, and led him upstairs. "Ron, you can't just forbid the two of them from seeing each other," she whispered urgently.

"Of course I can, I'm her brother. Plus, he already broke up with her and broke her heart. I'm not going to let him mess around with her now."

"No, Ron! Leave them alone!" They stood on the stairs fighting in whispers until Ron managed to break free and burst back into Ginny's room. He and Sienna stood stunned in the doorway as they saw Harry and Ginny standing awkwardly, having obviously been snogging moments before.

Ron looked livid. Sienna, on the other hand, felt like her whole body had gone numb. The nervous silence in the room was almost painful.

Finally, Ron turned and walked out, silent. Harry hurried to follow him. Sienna sat heavily on her bed, wanting very much to pull out her book again and hide, but, thinking better of it, looked over at Ginny who had begun crying.

"Ginny, it's okay. You know he loves you, right? He just doesn't want to break your heart if anything happens to him. It's a noble sentiment, but dumb." She stood and walked over to the younger girl.

Ginny nodded through her tears and turned and hugged Sienna fiercely. Sienna was shocked. She and Ginny had known each other for years but hadn't ever been particularly close friends. Sienna had hated watching Harry and Ginny together, but she also knew that she could never get in the way of anything that made Harry happy, so she hadn't interfered. Now, she could hardly contain her own tears as she held the sobbing redhead.

Once Ginny had finally calmed down, she went downstairs for breakfast. Sienna on the other hand went outside to find Harry, his birthday present tucked into the pocket of her jeans.

She found him sitting under a tree just a little ways away from the house, perusing a book. He set it down when he saw her coming. His face was drawn—Sienna could tell he had been trying to distract himself, probably from the fight that had inevitably occurred between him and Ron after they left Ginny's room.

She sat down next to him and handed him a wrapped present. "This is for you. Happy birthday, Harry."

Harry took the present and began to unwrap it. Inside he found a bronze colored leather bracelet with a small teal stone set into it. "Er, Sienna, why'd you get me a bracelet?" He asked perplexed.

Sienna laughed. "It has protective enchantments on it. It will prevent anyone from scrying you or tracking you, and it should repel most minor hexes, jinxes, and curses. Plus, it's Amazon colors, so I'll be with you three in spirit."

Harry smiled, then asked, "What's scrying?"

"It's a type of magic that is very difficult to master and isn't taught at Hogwarts. It involves seeing something from a long way off. I mostly know about it because I failed that portion of the Divination exam at Atlantis. As soon as I realized I didn't know anything about scrying, I researched how to block people from scrying me. It's really a useful tool though, according to what I've read."

Harry nodded, putting on the bracelet. They sat in silence for another minute or two before Harry finally broke it. "Er, tell me some more about Atlantis."

Sienna suppressed a grimace—she really didn't want to talk about this right now with him—then sighed. "Well, I suppose I can tell you how I got in. It was pretty complicated. You see, everything ever written about Atlantis is very clear on one point: if you request entrance, it will be denied. You can only get in by invitation. I had been hoping and praying for an invitation from my first year at Hogwarts. During our fifth year, when we were being tortured by Umbridge, I gave up—I sent Atlantis a letter requesting permission to attend as a transfer student. You can imagine my shock when they replied during summer break telling me they had been hoping I would contact them. You see, that's the first test. The idea is to weed out anyone who doesn't really care. Only if you care enough to risk everything and ask for entrance can you get in. I don't like the system but it works. They have a list of students they have their eyes on, and if one of them actually requests permission, they'll be considered.

"From there I was allowed to take the entrance exam. I didn't say anything to you guys because the chance of me getting in was still slim. However, I scored well. They had me take other tests too, such as an advanced version of the placement test they use for the third years and specialized tests in areas such as dueling, divination, flying, and even public speaking. They wanted to place me properly. The final test was defining my own spell. I had to use the basic laws of magic and do something new with them. You know the spell that I use to completely alter my appearance when I want to hang out in the Gryffindor common room? Well, I showed them that. In less than a minute with a single spell I completely transformed into Rosy Johnson. It also contains spells that make it nearly undetectable. They were impressed because I changed my height, eye color, hair color, skin tone, clothes, and even my voice all in one spell. They knew I wasn't a Metamorphmagus and I hadn't used Polyjuice potion, so it had to be my own creation. That's what got me into Amazonia. I was done—finally in. The hardest part though was telling you guys that I was leaving." Sienna dropped her eyes to her lap, not wanting to see Harry's reaction. "I don't like leaving you either, but I can't pass this up."

Harry had been sitting open-mouthed throughout Sienna's story but finally shook off his surprise. "Sienna, that's mental. I didn't realize how hard you worked for this. I'm sorry if I didn't seem very happy for you at the end of term, but I was upset about everything."

Sienna smiled slightly. "I know. I'm sorry about not being particularly cheerful. I'll try to be more excited. I just know that time speeds up when you're happy, and I don't really want this time with you guys to end." She flushed a little as she muttered the last few words, but Harry was oblivious. He just smiled back.

"Yeah, me neither. I'm glad you could come."

Sienna didn't need to answer; he knew she was happy to be there with him. Not that he fully understood the extent or the reasons for happiness, but she had made her choice, and she wasn't turning back.

They continued to talk about trivial things, but the minds of both were elsewhere. Finally Harry seemed to come back to earth. "Sienna, I wanted to show you the birthday present Ron got me. Don't tell him I showed you though, he specifically told me not to show anyone. But I think you'd have a laugh."

He picked up the book he had been reading and handed it to her. The title read _Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches_. She couldn't help but smirk as she opened to the table of contents and looked through the means of impressing girls. The more she saw, the more her smirk grew. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. She snapped the book shut and lightly hit Harry on the head with it.

"Hey!" He said, sounding annoyed. "What did you do that for?"

"You just handed a _girl_ a book about how to impress _girls_. This is probably why Ron didn't want you to show anyone. He knew you'd end up showing it to the wrong people." She tried to sound intimidating, but started laughing, ruining the effect. "You're a moron."

"No I'm not!" Harry was laughing now too.

They both laughed for several minutes before finally catching their breath. Sienna began to frown slowly. "Why did you want to show it to me?" She asked, curious.

"I don't know." He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before smirking. "I figured this was a faster way to find out if the methods worked than trying out each one."

Sienna hit him with the book again. "First of all, none of them will work if you're cocky about it. Second, there's no panacea for girls—we're all different and you have to decide how to approach a girl based on the girl, not some book. Though, you might be able to pick up a few hints from it," she added as an afterthought.

Harry smiled, abashed, and nodded. "Understood, thanks. But please, stop hitting me, will you?"

Sienna nodded looking penitent, but hit him once more with the book for good measure. "There, I'm done."

Harry snatched the book out of her hands, but Sienna was standing before he could hit her with it. Laughing, Sienna began to run. Harry chased her around the yard, leaping over bushes and gnomes until Mrs. Weasley looked out, wondering at the noise. "Ah, it looks like you two have some extra time. Sienna, will you come help me with the laundry? And Harry, I know it's your birthday but unfortunately a lot needs doing. Could you find Ron and help him clean up out there?"

They nodded, struggling to contain their laughter. Harry waved goodbye then headed off to find Ron while Sienna followed Mrs. Weasley into the laundry room. The two carefully washed and dried all the laundry using magic, as directed by Gilderoy Lockhart's books. Actually, Mrs. Weasley followed the books while Sienna completely ignored them. Despite their different methods, all the laundry was soon done.

Next, Mrs. Weasley enlisted Sienna to help make Harry's birthday cake. It was going to be a magnificent surprise, but Mrs. Weasley needed some help. They worked hard on the huge Snitch cake and soon it was baking. Dinner was next and before long it was time to eat the feast that had been prepared.

However, dinner couldn't begin without Mr. Weasley, and Mrs. Weasley was getting nervous. When he finally appeared, he was accompanied by Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic.

Scrimgeour walked right up to where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing and said, "I require a private word with the three of you. Ah, Miss Sinclair is here too, then? Well, please join us as well. Arthur, you needn't accompany us." He then turned to Mrs. Weasley. "Is there a place where we can speak privately?"

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley said nervously. "You can use the sitting room."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione led the way into the house. When she passed Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sienna said softly, "Don't worry about us. We'll be fine. Just give us a moment."

They nodded, and Sienna followed the others into the sitting room. Scrimgeour had taken Mr. Weasley's old armchair, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione had squeezed onto the couch, so Sienna quickly conjured her own comfy grey armchair, and sat down. Scrimgeour looked mildly surprised, but soon recovered.

"As I'm sure you know, I am here because of Albus Dumbledore's will," Scrimgeour began. Sienna's eyes widened, and she heard Hermione gasp. Scrimgeour smiled. "Ah, then you did not know. Well, each of you was included in Dumbledore's will."

Sienna and her friends exchanged shocked looks.

"Would you say you were close to Dumbledore, Ronald?" Scrimgeour asked suddenly. Ron looked startled.

"Er, no, not really." Ron glanced around at the other three who all were desperately trying to tell him to shut up. However, the damage was done.

"Then how can you explain the fact that only the four of you out of all of Dumbledore's many students received anything under his will?" Scrimgeour asked, pouncing on Ron's mistake.

"Don't be modest, Ron," Hermione chided. Then she turned to Scrimgeour. "Professor Dumbledore was very fond of Ron, just as he was of Harry, Sienna, and me."

Scrimgeour's only response was a raised eyebrow. Then he pulled a piece of parchment from a moleskin pouch. He looked at the four students once more before reading.

_"'To Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, in the hope that he will remember me when he uses it.'"_

Ron looked shocked as he took the silver object from Scrimgeour. "So, Mr. Weasley, to what use did Dumbledore think you'd put this?"

Ron shrugged. "Put out lights, I s'pose."

Scrimgeour glared at him, before turning back to the will.

_"'To Miss Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of The Tales of Beadle the Bard, in the hope that she will find it entertaining and instructive.'"_

He handed Hermione an old book. "Why do you think Dumbledore left you this book, Miss Granger?" Scrimgeour asked searchingly.

"He knew I liked books," said Hermione, looking close to tears.

Scrimgeour didn't seem to like this answer any better than Ron's, but he turned back to the will.

_"'To Miss Sienna Artemis Sinclair, I leave my favorite picture frame, in the hope that it will allow her to keep her friends close, even when they are apart.'"_

Sienna took a carved silver picture frame from Scrimgeour. She admired the roses worked into the metal, then noticed that there didn't seem to be a picture within. Flipping it over, she found that there was no place to open the frame either. That seemed odd, but she wasn't going to mention it.

When she looked up, Scrimgeour asked, "Why would Dumbledore have left you an empty picture frame?"

"He knew I was going overseas this year for school, so he probably wanted to give me a way to keep my friends with me at all times. What else are pictures for?" Sienna said smiling sadly at the frame in her hands.

Scrimgeour looked back at the will once more.

_"'To Harry James Potter, I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill.'"_

Scrimgeour pulled the Snitch from the pouch. "As you know, Snitches have flesh memories. This Snitch remembers your touch. Dumbledore may have enchanted it to open for you. Take it, Mr. Potter."

Harry tentatively reached out his hand and took the Snitch. Nothing happened.

"Well, that was dramatic," Harry said coolly. Ron, Hermione, and Sienna started laughing, mostly from relief.

Scrimgeour's face was sour as he began to speak again. "There is one last thing. Dumbledore left you a second bequest, Mr. Potter: the sword of Godric Gryffindor. Now, the sword is a historical artifact and it was not Dumbledore's to give. It belongs—"

"It belongs to Harry," Hermione interrupted.

"I'm sorry, it does not," Scrimgeour replied, not looking in the least penitent.

"That's not for you to say," Sienna replied angrily getting to her feet. "It was Dumbledore's to give to whomsoever he chose. If he'd wanted it to go to a museum, he would have sent it there himself. He apparently didn't want it to remain at Hogwarts either. The sword is Harry's, minister."

Scrimgeour's face contorted in rage as he, too, rose. "It is not Harry's just as it was not Dumbledore's. The sword will remain at Hogwarts until such a time as the school decides it ought to be moved. That is all I came here to say, so good day."

With that, Scrimgeour stormed out of the sitting room. The four remaining in the room glanced at one another. Sienna broke the silence first. "We should get out there. Ron, your parents are probably worried sick." She quickly vanished her chair then walked outside, closely followed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

When they arrived back at the party they found everyone looking worried. Sienna forestalled the questioning, saying, "He had to give us what Dumbledore left us in his will."

For the rest of the party, the objects were passed around from hand to hand. No one could make sense of the Snitch or of the picture frame, as it seemed that no picture was in it. Soon, Mrs. Weasley sent the group to bed to ensure they'd be ready for the wedding the next day.

When Hermione and Sienna reached the landing that held the room they were sharing with Ginny, Hermione muttered, "We need to meet Ron and Harry after everyone's gone to bed. We can leave as soon as Ginny falls asleep."

Sienna nodded, and the two hurriedly got changed into their pajamas. They waited in their beds until Ginny's breathing finally slowed, signaling she was asleep. Then, they rose and ascended the stairs until they reached Ron's room at the very top. Hermione knocked softly, then walked in, with Sienna right behind her.

Harry and Ron were sitting on their beds looking over the objects they had been given. Before anyone said anything, Hermione waved her wand towards the door and whispered, " _Muffliato_."

"Thought you didn't approve of that spell," said Ron.

"Times change," Hermione responded quickly. "Now, show us the Deluminator."

Ron held it up for the three to see and then clicked it, plunging the room into darkness.

"What's the point of giving you that?" Hermione asked in frustration. "We could have done that with Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. Dumbledore would not have bothered to give the Deluminator to Ron just for the sake of turning off lights, surely. Plus, I can't make sense of this book. I mean, what's the point of him giving me a book of children's stories?"

They all shrugged. "And guys, there's not even a picture in this frame," Sienna laughed bitterly. "It's all black. If there is a picture, the occupant has been hiding for the past month at least. Even better, it doesn't open. I can't put a picture in there either. It's a permanently empty picture frame."

The group sat in silence for a moment, thinking.

"Then there's the old Snitch he left Harry. What on earth was that about?" Ron said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, well I wasn't going to try too hard to open it in front of Scrimgeour, was I?" Harry smirked.

They all looked at him in confusion until Sienna started. "Oh, right, that's the Snitch from your first match. Ugh, I'm such an idiot." Harry smiled as Ron and Hermione turned their confused expressions onto Sienna. "Guys, that's the one he almost swallowed."

Their eyes widened in surprise as they too remembered that first Quidditch match. Harry took a deep breath, and then pressed the Snitch to his mouth.

They all watched with bated breath, but the Snitch didn't open. Suddenly, Hermione squealed, "Harry, there's writing!"

They all bent closer to read the tiny script.

_I open at the close_

The writing faded almost immediately, leaving just as many questions as before.

"What on earth does that mean?" Sienna asked, voicing the question all were thinking.

The other three just shook their heads, equally confused.

"And what about the sword?" Ron asked suddenly. "Why did Dumbledore want Harry to have that?" Again, the question was met with confused silence.

"We should get to sleep," Hermione said finally. "We don't want to oversleep tomorrow."

They all agreed, so Hermione and Sienna took their leave as Ron clicked the Deluminator once more.

. . .

Sienna was woken at the crack of dawn on the morning of the wedding by an already frantic Mrs. Weasley. "Get up, all of you," she said breathlessly, opening the curtains to let what little sunlight there was enter Ginny's room. "Guests will be here within a few hours and we need to be completely dressed and ready in time to finish setting up for them." She kept talking but Sienna was too groggy to really understand much of it. However, she did manage to pull herself out of bed.

Sienna walked downstairs for a quick bite of breakfast before getting dressed and ready for the wedding. She pulled the elegant dress from her trunk and removed the wrinkles with a quick spell before sliding it on. It was a dull gold dress with black accents. The skirt went down to her shins in the front and fell several inches farther in the back. It had a straight neckline with small black straps and a black sash. With it she put on gold sandals, each with a small black stone placed in the middle. She also pulled her hair up into a Regency-esque hair style, with most of her hair in an elegant bun while the bottom layer was curled and hanging down her back.

After she finished getting ready, Sienna went outside. By this time most everything had been set up, and the first guests were starting to arrive. Sienna found Ron standing outside the marquee with a red-headed boy that was supposedly his cousin.

"Hi, Ron, Harry," Sienna said brightly as she joined them.

The red-headed cousin looked shocked. "How did you know it was me?"

Sienna smirked. "Oh come on, I've known you for what, seven years now? I should be able to pick you out of a crowd even with the Polyjuice potion. Besides, that boy lives in the village. I saw him there one time when I decided to take a walk."

Harry just shook his head, as Ron rolled his eyes and said, "Come on, you either need to go sit down or help us show people in."

"I'll help," Sienna started, but Harry interrupted.

"No, you should go sit. You're by Hermione, though I haven't seen her yet. I'll show you." He then led her into the tent. "By the way," He added without meeting her eye after he'd pointed out her chair. "You look really nice."

"Thanks," Sienna said quietly as she watched Harry walk back to the entrance. She smiled sadly, looking down at her hands. She'd miss him, all of them in fact, when she left this evening. She'd stay the night at the hotel near the station before boarding the train early the next morning. This time tomorrow, she realized, she'd be hurtling towards Atlantis.

She was jolted from her thoughts by Hermione who had just come in. The two of them talked for a few minutes until the wedding music began to play. The procession came in slowly and filled the front two rows. Then, the two flower girls entered: Fleur's sister, Gabrielle, and Ginny. From where she was sitting, Sienna could see that Harry's eyes were fixed on Ginny; otherwise he might have noticed Sienna's eyes fixed on him.

Hermione did notice. "Sienna, are you okay?"

"Of course," Sienna lied quickly.

"I know that's not true," Hermione said worriedly. Before she could press the issue, however, the bride began to walk down the aisle.

Fleur looked radiant like always. She had a glow about her that brightened everything it touched. As she reached the front and took her place next to Bill, her glow seemed to erase the cares from Bill's scarred face, giving it back its kind, handsome appearance from before his run-in with Greyback.

The ceremony went smoothly, and, soon, the chairs were vanished, to be replaced by a dance floor and small, white-clothed tables. A band began playing somewhere, and people started dancing.

Sienna had lost Hermione when the ceremony ended, but now she saw her talking with Harry and Ron near where Luna Lovegood was sitting. Sienna began making her way over to them. She slowed a little way from their table when Victor Krum took Luna's seat. He seemed irritated about something, but not as irritated as Ron looked. Soon Ron grabbed Hermione and pulled her out to the dance floor. Laughing, Sienna wound her way among the tables toward them.

"That girl is very nice looking," She heard Krum say, gesturing toward Ginny. "Is she a relative of yours?"

Harry looked like he was struggling not to hex Krum. "Yeah. And she's seeing someone. Jealous type. Big bloke. Wouldn't want to cross him."

Krum sighed and muttered something Sienna couldn't hear before walking away from the table and towards her. He stopped when he recognized her. "You are one of Hermione's friends, correct? Sienna?" Sienna nodded. "Do you vont to dance?"

Sienna was surprised and threw a quick glance at Harry before looking back at Krum and nodding. "Sure, thanks."

They danced for a few songs, not talking much. As soon as she could excuse herself without being rude, Sienna left Krum to see where Harry had gone. She found him sitting alone and looking pale.

"Are you alright?"

He didn't respond. He just looked up at her, his eyes distant and dim.

"Oh, there you are, Sienna. I'm tired of dancing. Harry, what's wrong with you? You look faint," Hermione said quickly, her flushed face belying her complaints about the party.

"Harry, what happened?" Sienna asked again.

He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything there was a flash of silver light. The tent became completely quiet as everyone turned to look at the silvery lynx standing in the middle of the dance floor. The Patronus opened its mouth and spoke with Kingsley Shacklebolt's deep, booming voice. _"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."_

Sienna was the first to react. She had to find Ron so that he, Harry, and Hermione could flee. She fought her way through the crowd and quickly found him.

"Ron, come on!" She shouted as she grabbed his arm and dragged him back through the crowd. She found Harry and Hermione holding hands to make sure they weren't separated as Hermione cried out for Ron. Sienna pushed him towards them and he grabbed onto Hermione's free hand.

Sienna caught Harry's eye in that split second, and everything around them seemed muted to her. He was begging her to grab onto his hand, but she just shook her head and stepped back. "Go." She said softly. And then, they were gone.

Fighting back her tears, Sienna Apparated into Ginny's room where she grabbed her already packed bags. She couldn't help but look out the window at the once-beautiful marquee that had now been set aflame. A single tear slipped through Sienna's hardened mask. As it rolled down her cheek, she turned on the spot and stepped, from everything she had ever known, into complete and utter darkness.


	3. The Koi Fish

When Sienna stepped out of the darkness, she found herself on a beautiful beach. She knew she was in Rethymnon in Northern Crete. She tore her eyes from the glittering ocean and, wiping away the tear, turned instead to see an elegant, brightly lit building, the Atlantis Beach Hotel. She walked up the beach to the entrance.

The interior of the hotel was just as beautiful as the exterior. Gleaming stone floors and soft earthy tones were brightened by chandeliers and splashes of pink. Sienna couldn't help but smile a bit as she walked up to the receptionist.

"Ma'am," Sienna said politely as she reached the counter. "I'd like to book a room for tonight. A Student Suite."

The young lady raised an eyebrow inquiringly. "I assume you mean a _Junior_ Suite?"

"No, Ma'am, a _Student_ Suite. I have to catch the train tomorrow."

The receptionist looked surprised. "Wait a moment," She said and walked through a door behind the counter.

After a moment she returned with a middle-aged man. "Good afternoon, Miss," The man said politely. "My name is Aegeus, and I am the hotel manager. I will help you book your room."

Sienna smiled. "My name is Sienna Sinclair. The room's price is included in my scholarship, right?"

"Yes, Miss Sinclair, I have you down here. I did not realize you would be coming for the early train, but no matter. You will be in room A21. I will show you."

He walked around the counter, past Sienna, and down a nearby hall. Sienna quickly picked up her bags and followed him. He led her past a nice dining room and a few conference rooms, then up to the second floor, where the suites were. She followed him into a room with an ice machine. He checked quickly to make sure that no one was there before sliding a key card into a hardly noticeable card slot. A bright teal light shone from the card slot and a portion of the wall slid away to reveal another hallway with more rooms.

Aegeus led Sienna to the first of these rooms and handed her the key card. "This is your room. The key card is for entrance into the hallway and, of course, for your room. Feel free to enjoy the pool. Your dinner and breakfast are paid for, but there is no room service in this hall, so you will have to come to the dining room. If you need anything, please ask me. I hope you enjoy your stay." With that, he walked away, closing the door to the hallway behind him.

Sienna unlocked her room and stepped inside. Her footsteps seemed loud to her as she walked across the polished stone floor to the bed. She let her bags fall as she herself fell sprawled out on the bed and finally released the pent up emotions from the past two days. She cried for Bill and Fleur and their ruined wedding. She cried for Ginny, who had been so hurt and lonely as she watched Harry leave her behind. She cried for her sisters, who she knew would now be uprooting their lives and leaving the country, trying desperately to escape the wave of darkness spreading over the magical world. She cried for Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as they left everything they knew to become fugitives on a desperate, shadowy quest. But most of all, she cried for herself, estranged from all she loved. She was very aware that she might never see her best friends or her family again. She, Sienna, would be going to what might be the last safe place on earth while everyone she loved was on the run from Voldemort and the Ministry, which was now under his control.

When Sienna finally sat up she noticed it was dark outside. It had only been early afternoon when she had arrived, so she figured she had cried herself to sleep. For the first time, she looked around her room. It was a comfortable room, but cold and impersonal, despite the soft golden lights shining on the walls. Across from the large bed was a soft-looking couch and, in the middle of the room, was a large Jacuzzi. Sienna almost laughed at the idea that this was a "Student's Suite." But she certainly wasn't going to complain.

She stood up and walked to the bathroom to wash the tearstains from her face. Then she placed her bags in the alcove that was meant to function as a closet before finally changing out of her dress from the wedding. She glanced at the clock next to the bed and, seeing that it was only a bit before eight, decided to grab dinner before going to bed. She put on a comfortable sundress and left her room.

The hotel's restaurant, Knossos wasn't very crowded. The food was all traditional Greek and Cretan cuisine and was very good. When Sienna finished eating she decided to step outside and look at the ocean before going to bed, since she wasn't sure if she'd have time the next day before she left.

Of course, when she got outside, Sienna found she couldn't just look at the ocean; she had to go walk on the beach. She took her sandals off and enjoyed the soft sand between her toes. The waves seemed to be coated in silver as they danced under the full moon. A particularly bold one crept so far as to wash over Sienna's feet. She smiled. She had always loved the ocean, especially at night.

She stood there, looking out at the glittering Mediterranean, for almost half an hour before pulling herself away and back into the Atlantis. When she got back to her room, Sienna realized how exhausted she was, despite her long nap. She quickly changed into pajamas and slipped under the silky sheets of her bed.

The craziness of the day kept coming back to her mind, unrelenting as the waves she'd stood watching. Finally she did what she always did when overwhelmed—picked up her book. The hero was still on the run from a nameless darkness. She smiled a little, thinking of their similar circumstances. She read until her fears and worries were eclipsed by the soothing sensation of losing herself in a story. Finally her eyes drifted shut and she slipped into the sweet repose of sleep. For that one moment, she could simply reside in the present. The past had been washed from her mind by her earlier tears, and the future would come soon enough, but for that night, neither disturbed her dreamless sleep.

. . .

A buzzing sound startled Sienna from her sleep. She had set an alarm the night before, so now, at eight in the morning, she was awake.

She quickly shut off the alarm and began to get ready. Due to the location of the train station, Sienna would be able to change into her school robes before she left the hotel. However, she still needed to eat breakfast, so she decided to wear the sundress from the night before again.

The food on the breakfast buffet was very good, and, thankfully, it was also quick. The train was to leave at ten, and Sienna hadn't been able to get down to the buffet until almost nine. She ate swiftly and, within twenty minutes, was walking back to her room.

Before she finished crossing the lobby, Sienna was called to a halt by Aegeus. "Miss Sinclair, I assume you will be checking out soon. When you do, simply leave the key card by your bed. At ten fifteen, I will assume the room has been vacated. Is that agreeable to you?"

Sienna nodded.

"Very good, then. I hope you will have a pleasant journey and will stay here again when the train returns."

Sienna smiled. "Thank you."

When she entered her room, she quickly changed into her new robes. Then she folded the sundress and packed it into the one bag she had left open. She had packed the others before breakfast. Everything seemed to be in order. She checked the clock: 9:30. She still had half-an-hour to get to the station and onto the train.

Sienna carefully began piling her bags in the Jacuzzi. When she had gotten them all in, she scanned the room one last time to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Satisfied that she'd remembered everything, she placed the key card next to the bed and stepped into the Jacuzzi herself.

She felt rather foolish standing in the Jacuzzi with her bags, but at least there was no one watching. She took a deep breath, nervous now, and carefully pressed the "on" button. There was no burst of water, only the sensation of spinning before Sienna found herself standing with her bags on what appeared to be a landing square in the middle of a hall.

She levitated her bags and carefully led them out of the hallway and through a pair of blue-silver doors. Her concentration snapped, and the bags dropped. She wasn't sure what she had expected the station to look like, but it certainly wasn't this.

Sienna was standing at the entrance to an ice palace. Lofty ceilings were supported by frosted columns carved with elegant designs. Tall windows and crystal chandeliers illuminated the room, causing the ice to sparkle like diamonds. The room didn't feel cold, despite all the ice. The train stood out magnificently against the frosted building. It was an ultra-modern, royal blue bullet train with a silver stripe running down the sides.

Only then did Sienna notice the quiet. She was used to the noise of train stations, but this one was completely silent. There was no bustle, and hardly a whisper could be heard. She could only see one or two others in the station at all and they were going about their business in a focused but unhurried sort of way.

Feeling slightly awkward, Sienna quickly made her way onto the train. Inside, everything was a soft grey. It was very comfortable and, like the exterior, very modern.

Sienna walked down the aisle looking into empty compartment after empty compartment. She figured she shouldn't be surprised; after all, school wasn't due to start for another two weeks. The only other passengers would be teachers who wanted to get back before the students but hadn't wanted to spend the whole summer at Atlantis. So, with a sigh, Sienna resigned herself to sitting alone and starting on her schoolwork.

Sienna entered the very next compartment and settled herself on the plush seats after stowing her trunk. She then pulled out her Divination textbook, _Tactics: How to Effectively Gain and Use Information_ by Cassandra G. Clannyte, and began to study. Ten o'clock came and went and the train began to move, but Sienna was focused on her reading and really didn't notice. In fact, she didn't look up at all until she felt a buzzing near her wrist.

It took Sienna a minute to pull herself from the book, but she finally managed to turn her attention to the buzzing. On her wrist was a silver charm bracelet. One of the charms, an elegant mirror, had turned gold. Smiling, Sienna pulled out her wand and muttered a spell, and, soon, the mirror had grown to the size of a normal hand-held mirror.

Sienna had figured the best place to hide her two-way mirror was on her charm bracelet as an ordinary charm. Most people wouldn't notice if one of the charms turned gold, and the buzzing was a silent sensation so no one could hear it. If she couldn't talk, she knew the nonverbal spell to turn it off.

Today Sienna could talk, so, happily, she said, " _Dicamus_ " Immediately, the screen showed a picture of Harry, looking worried.

"Sienna, you're there. I thought something was going wrong since you didn't appear as soon as I said your name. Is something wrong?" He said, all in a rush.

"Harry, I'm not like Sirius. I'm not supposed to have something like this. I keep it on me at all times, but it won't show me until I'm able to talk to you. Sometimes you may not be able to reach me, especially if I'm in class, but I will try to get back to you later when something like that happens. Anyway, what's going on with you? You seem upset."

Harry laughed humorlessly. "Besides being worried if you and everyone else even made it out of the wedding? Well, as you know, we Apparated out of there together. We went to a small café that Hermione knew. We were sitting there talking when a pair of Death Eaters appeared and attacked us. We got them, but it was unnerving. We still don't know how they found us. We're now at Grimauld Place. It's not perfectly safe but we don't have anywhere else to go."

Sienna's eyes had grown to the size of saucers as her friend spoke. She couldn't believe the Death Eaters had been able to find them. Normally there were lots of possible ways, though she doubted the Death Eaters were capable of any of them, but the bracelet should have prevented it.

"Were you wearing the bracelet?" She asked suddenly.

"Er, yeah. I had it in the little moleskin pouch Hagrid gave me for my birthday. I put it on when we changed before we went into the café." Harry looked surprised as he answered.

Sienna's eyebrows scrunched together as she considered this bit of information. She couldn't come up with an answer off the top of her head though, so she decided to think on it later. "Just make sure you keep the bracelet on at all times, okay?"

He nodded, and the two of them began to talk of little things: how nice the wedding had been, what Hogwarts would be like for those going back, and other trivialities. Soon, they began to hear Hermione and Ron calling Harry. Neither really wanted the mirrors to become common knowledge, so they cut the talk short.

Sienna was a little sad as she returned the mirror to its charm form. She wished she could be with Harry, but she'd decided that she had to follow her dreams. Besides, maybe if she was away from Harry for a while she would be able to let go of him more easily when he finally got to be with Ginny. That thought hurt, but Sienna was rested now and in no danger of crying. She briefly considered returning to her school book, but instead decided to continue her novel. Reading fiction always made her feel better when upset.

As she stood to retrieve her novel from the luggage rack, Sienna glanced out the window. She did a double take. There seemed to be nothing out there. She summoned a light to sit outside her window, but there still wasn't much to see. As she continued staring out the window in alarm, Sienna saw a large something pass across her view. The train must have been going very fast, because it was gone instantly. Well, at least they weren't traveling through a void, she thought. Finally, green began to pass in front of the window. It was undulating and seemed almost plantlike. When she saw more shadows darting among the green, she understood: they were traveling along the sea-floor.

Sienna had known that Atlantis was in the _middle_ of the ocean, but she hadn't realized it was at the _bottom_. Of course, in hindsight she thought she shouldn't have been surprised, considering the name of the school.

Shaking her head in both amusement and amazement, Sienna picked up her book. Time passed quickly as she followed the young wizard and watched him turn from hunted to hunter. She wasn't sure what time it was when she felt the train slowing. She checked outside the window, but still couldn't see anything.

Once the train had completely stopped, Sienna grabbed her bags and walked toward the nearest exit. She got off the train and looked around in wonder. She was standing at the edge of a huge dome of light—enclosed in a luminescent bubble at the bottom of the ocean. As she walked around the train, she turned toward the middle of the dome, thinking that nothing more could surprise her. Atlantis, it seemed, was determined to continue proving her wrong.

Sienna let her wide eyes wander over grassy slopes, vibrant flowers, and a bright blue lake, fed by a waterfall trickling from a cliff. On three sides, the grounds were surrounded by towering black cliffs, rising up, out of the bubble, and into the darkness. Scattered across this paradise were buildings, all cut from white marble. The largest and most imposing building looked like a palace. She could also see a Quidditch pitch and what appeared to be a small Coliseum.

Shaking her head, Sienna began walking to the palace-like building. She still couldn't believe the size of this place. It was huge and beautiful and verdant, despite being on the sea-floor.

When Sienna arrived at the door, she realized just how large the palace itself was. It was nearly as big as Hogwarts, and that was without the other large building that appeared to be some sort of dormitory.

Before she could open the door, someone opened it from the inside. A young, pretty witch with black hair and black eyes looked out at Sienna. "Hi, you're Sienna Sinclair, right? Follow me; I'll take you to meet the Headmistress. Oh, you can leave your bags here; someone will take them to your dormitory."

Sienna nodded, set her bags down by the door, and followed the woman into the entrance hall. The lofty ceiling was supported by towering pillars interspersed with large stained glass windows, but the room was primarily lit by floating blue luminescent bubbles. In here she could sort of believe she was in the sea, because the lights cast an eerie undulating glow, like the sun seen through the surface of the water.

Sienna followed the woman down the hall to a large door. However, instead of opening it, the woman led Sienna up one of two identical staircases that ascended on either side of the door. At the top, the staircases joined together, leading into another hallway, though not quite as big as the entrance hall. This hall had doors opening along its length, but once again, the woman didn't enter any of them.

At the end of the hall, the woman led Sienna down a side passageway, leading to another staircase, this one even reaching the uppermost level of the palace. The two of them climbed up two flights to the top only to find themselves facing a stone wall.

Sienna looked puzzled, but the woman only smiled and, muttering, placed her hand on the wall. The smooth surface of the marble rippled and flowed to form an archway leading into the corridor beyond.

"The fourth floor is reserved for teachers," the woman said smiling. "Once school starts, the statue who watches the entrance will be back and will be available to summon staff members for students who need them. For now, you will have to wait until you can find someone to let you in. I hope it doesn't cause you any trouble."

"Oh, not at all," Sienna said politely. The hall they were now in had doors all along its length and a long pond down the middle with bright, clear water and large black, white, and orange fish. "Are they koi fish?"

The woman smiled at Sienna. "They are. The Atlanteans brought them from the East millennia ago as part of their trading. Do you know their Muggle legend?"

Sienna shook her head.

"In Japan, there's a story that says a koi fish once decided to seek enlightenment, and, in pursuit of that goal, it began to swim upstream. It faced many obstacles, but through perseverance, it overcame all of them, becoming stronger than any koi before it. When it crested the final hill and found the source of the stream, it was transformed into the first dragon as a reward for its work. That dragon was then able to fly into the heavens, where it finally found true enlightenment. I don't know if there is any truth in the story, but every student hears the story on his first day. It's a school tradition, especially since the koi is the symbol of Atlantis."

Sienna shook her head in wonder. "I never was sure why the symbol of Atlantis was a fish, but that makes sense." She looked down at the pond once more and, acting on an instinct informed by long years of reading fantasy stories, she bowed. Straitening, she turned again to the woman and smiled. "Thank you for telling me the story. I'm ready to meet the Headmistress now."

Her guide quirked an eyebrow, but returned Sienna's smile and led her down to the very end of the hall where a beautiful door stood. It seemed to have been carved out of a single enormous pearl. The woman knocked once, and the door slowly opened of its own accord.

The two entered, but Sienna couldn't see the Headmistress. The circular room was rather large and nicely decorated with plants and statues, but it seemed empty. Sienna walked to the middle of the circle where a large marble statue of a koi fish stood.

"So, you like my statue? I'm glad. It's my very favorite." Sienna jumped and spun around, but she still couldn't locate the voice. "My dear, I'm up here."

Sienna looked up and finally noticed the balcony that looked over the room from the second floor. Standing there, looking down at her, was an elderly woman in long ivory robes. Her hair was the color of the full moon and shone almost as much. She smiled and a moment later walked into the wall and out of a hidden doorway in an alcove just behind Sienna.

"It is nice to meet you, Miss Sinclair. I am Ariel Fontayre, Headmistress of Atlantis. Here, come with me so that we can sit down. We have much to talk about regarding this year."

Sienna nodded and followed Professor Fontayre up to the balcony room, where she sat down behind a large desk carved from coral. Sienna took one of the two chairs in front of the desk.

"There, now we can talk," Professor Fontayre continued. "According to my records, you have never taken Divination, correct?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Very good. Over the course of the next two weeks you will spend two hours each morning and afternoon during the week with Casey working on Divination. Next, Amazons are required to have completed one advanced and one intermediate Combat class when they graduate. Since you have experience with dueling, I would take Wizard Dueling for your advanced class. I don't think we could catch you up to any of the other classes for the advanced level. Now, for the intermediate, I suggest we do what we are doing for Divination: you'll spend these two weeks in a crash course of sorts and then you can join right in with the class when school starts. As such, you may choose your other Combat class. Here's the course list."

She handed Sienna a brochure that listed all the classes. Sienna scanned the list.

"You should really choose a close-range weapon, since magic is more long-range by nature," Sienna's guide interjected.

Sienna nodded and looked again at the extensive list. She thought of the seminal works of fantasy, of Tolkien and Lewis and their heroes with axes and bows. But of all weapons, she knew which most sparked her interest.

"I'll do sword-fighting," Sienna said looking back toward Professor Fontayre.

Fontayre looked startled. "Really? Sword-fighting is popular enough among Olympians, but it's fairly rare in the other colleges, especially Amazonia. However, it's not unheard of and it should cover what your magic can't, so I have no problem with it. The teacher, Professor Gladinor, is already here for the semester and will work with you for two hours in the mornings after you finish Divination. Also, I want the Wizard Dueling teacher, Professor Finnètte, to spend an hour with you each afternoon, just to make sure you're caught up. Lastly you'll have a couple hours of free time each afternoon to work on homework and explore the school."

Fontayre handed Sienna a sheet of paper. "Here's your schedule for the next two weeks until school technically starts. We'll wait to get your official schedule sorted out until after the start of term feast at least. Oh, you have weekends off these classes, but Divination, at least, will have homework for you. Tomorrow you start lessons. Casey will give you a quick tour now and introduce you to your other two teachers tomorrow."

Seeing Sienna's look of confusion, the Headmistress turned to Sienna's raven-haired guide. "You did introduce yourself, didn't you?"

"Oops," The woman laughed. "I must have forgotten. It's nice to have met you, Sienna. I'm Casey, well _Cassandra_ , technically, Casey Clannyte. I'm the Divination teacher."

Sienna was in shock. This girl who hardly looked out of school was the Divination teacher? Besides that, she wrote the textbook. Sienna figured she must be some sort of genius. However, she quickly regained her composure. "It's very nice to meet you. I've been reading the textbook, and your ideas are fascinating. I look forward to your class."

"Aww, aren't you sweet," Professor Clannyte giggled. "Come on, I'll give you the short tour and then you can explore for the next few weeks." Sienna nodded and thanked Professor Fontayre before following Clannyte back out of the room.

The "short tour" showed Sienna the dining hall (where they ate a quick dinner), the library, the sparring arena, and the classroom where she'd be having Divination. After they finished, Clannyte said she'd show Sienna the Amazon dormitories so she could get to bed. Although Sienna hadn't realized it, it was very late. The train ride had been much longer than she'd thought.

Professor Clannyte led Sienna down another marble corridor, this one on the first floor. One wall was made almost completely of windows, overlooking a beautiful garden filled with flowers and trees. Through the window, Sienna could see that the passage surrounded the garden on three sides, and the middle one had a doorway leading into the garden. However, before they turned onto that portion of the corridor, Clannyte stopped.

They were standing in front of a little alcove with a beautiful urn sitting in it. Artemis, the huntress goddess, chased a herd of deer across its surface. Professor Clannyte smiled at Sienna and spoke to the small painted figure of Artemis. "Lady Diana, this is our new student and she's in your college. Will you give her your password?"

Artemis looked up at Sienna and nodded. In a sweet melodic voice, she said, "The password for the semester is _Puellae Imperium_. I must warn you: I never let _boys_ into this dormitory even if they have the password, so don't bother trying to sneak one in."

Sienna laughed. "No, I've had enough of boys for a while, so I think that won't be a problem."

The little Artemis laughed before shooting an arrow at the inside of the alcove. A doorway appeared where the arrow had landed. Professor Clannyte thanked Artemis before leading Sienna into the dormitory.

The common room was pleasant. The furniture looked comfortable, and paintings of flowers and maidens were hung around the room.

"Just to let you know, I am the supervisor for Amazonia College. If you have any questions, I'm the one to talk to. Oh, yeah, the dormitory for the seventh years is down the fourth staircase."

Sienna nodded and continued examining the room. A large teal sofa and several bronze armchairs sat around a fire, the first one Sienna had seen at Atlantis. The floor had a soft bronze rug concealing the same marble floors as the rest of the building. The whole place had a rather warm and homey feeling to it. The back wall contained four stairwells descending into the ground underneath Atlantis.

Sienna walked over to the last one and down into her dormitory. The room itself was very nice. It had five soft looking four poster beds hung with the Amazon colors. One side of this room was covered in windows too, looking out over another flower garden. There was also a doorway, so Sienna walked out to enjoy the garden.

The garden had been planted in a small cave that contained the brightest of the small bubble-lanterns that Sienna had seen so far. The flowers seemed to be growing fine, which convinced Sienna that magic was involved somehow. There was also a little cherry blossom tree planted by a stone bench.

Sienna looked around at the walls of the cave and noticed that hers was the only doorway. The seventh years had the little garden to themselves. Smiling, she walked back into the dormitory.

She looked around and found her bags sitting next to one of the beds. She figured that the bed was hers. She walked over and opened one of the bags, releasing a small black kitten.

Sienna had gotten an owl from her parents at the beginning of her first year, but she had to share it with her two sisters. She might have gotten to bring it with her to Atlantis if owls had been permitted. However, with nowhere for them to fly at the school, her parents let her sisters keep the owl and Sienna got a kitten.

"Come here, Funky," Sienna said quietly. Her youngest sister had started calling the cat Funky before anyone knew they were buying it, and the name had stuck.

Sienna picked up Funky and sat down on the bed, holding on to the struggling cat. She thought about the past couple days and sighed, knowing everything would be very different from here on out. Well, at least she'd stopped crying.

Sienna released Funky quickly and began rubbing her arm where the cat had bitten her. She smiled; it had been her own fault after all. She got up and peeked into the last doorway out of their dormitory. This one led to the bathroom. It was small, but it would be fine for five girls to share.

Sienna knew she had class early the next morning, so she wanted to get to bed a bit early. It took her a while to fall asleep though; thoughts of her friends and the future plagued her mind. Eventually, however, she drifted off.

_She was standing by a river that had a fast current. She wasn't scared though and walked slowly into the water. It was cool and felt wonderful flowing against her calves, so Sienna continued walking until she was almost in the middle of the river._

_Suddenly, she noticed a koi fish swimming toward her, against the river's current. As it got closer, Sienna could see that this koi was completely gold in color. She watched it as it drew nearer and nearer until it was right beside her. In awe of its dedication, Sienna bowed._

_The koi stopped and turned to her. It was now swimming only to stay abreast of her._

_"Are you the koi from the legend?" Sienna asked._

_"Yes," it replied simply. "I heard you paid your respects to the koi in the pond, so I had to see for myself. You are . . . special."_

_"Er, thanks. But, if you don't mind my asking, what's so special about respecting what you have done?"_

_"Every student at Atlantis has seen the koi and heard my story, but only you responded. Many did not even listen to the story, and many others forgot soon after, but you saw me swimming toward you and watched, then once again you bowed. Perhaps you are the one we have been waiting for."_

_Sienna was confused. "Why would you be waiting for me? I'm nothing special."_

_"Perhaps not, but you do have a role to play. I am not the only one who seeks enlightenment, and when I arrive at the source of the spring, I will find other koi there. However, only I will transform into a dragon. Why is that?"_

_"I don't know," Sienna said honestly._

_She could almost hear the koi sigh. "A gift that is forced on someone is no gift at all. The reward is a gift; you have a choice whether or not you want to accept it. Always remember: no one goes looking for fool's gold, but many find it and mistake it for gold."_

_"That doesn't make sense," Sienna tried to say, but her words wouldn't come. The koi continued its journey, and Sienna couldn't follow it or call out to it. All she could do was watch and wonder what its words to her had meant._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's the next chapter. A few notes:
> 
> 1\. The story of Funky is a mostly true story, except my sister did not get to take the kitten home and is still upset by that fact almost a decade later. I included her in the story as a tribute.
> 
> 2\. I've been accused of writing a gratuitous self-insert story. To an extent that's true. Almost fifteen years ago, Sienna was born in her earliest form as a self-insert. However, she's grown into her own character with her own adventure quite apart from Harry's story. I hope you can enjoy her as she is now.
> 
> 3\. The Atlantis Beach Hotel in Rethymnon is a real place but I unfortunately have never been there.


	4. Stargazing and Swordplay

It was odd, eating breakfast in the empty dining hall. The two long Trojan tables were empty, as was the Olympian table, and only Sienna sat at the table shared by Amazonia and Elysium. A few of the teachers were sitting up at the staff table, but even it was mostly vacant.

Sienna ate her eggs and toast quickly; the large, empty room unnerved her and she still wanted to check out the library. However, before she could leave, Clannyte accosted her with two other teachers.

"Good morning, Sienna," Professor Clannyte exclaimed brightly. "These are the other two teachers you will be working with until school starts. This is Professor Gladinor, our swordplay expert," She gestured toward a tall blonde man with his long hair tied in a ponytail. "And this is Professor Finnètte, who teaches Charms and Wizard Dueling." Professor Clannyte pointed to her other companion, a middle aged witch with auburn hair and a friendly smile. "Anyway, you go ahead and get ready for class, and I'll see you upstairs in half an hour, alright?"

Sienna nodded to Professor Clannyte and greeted both Professor Gladinor and Professor Finnètte politely. Then, she headed toward the library. Clannyte had shown her the library during her short tour the day before, but Sienna wanted to look around more, now that she had a bit of time.

The library was huge and beautiful. Tall shelves were packed with neatly organized books, and comfy chairs were placed strategically throughout the room. A shelf held a dozen unlit bubble lamps that students could use if they needed a little extra light. Off to one side of the library, there was a series of doors leading to small study rooms, some with room for a dozen people.

Sienna wandered the shelves for the next half-hour, simply browsing the titles. Later, she knew, she would go back and attempt to read as many of the books as she could, but for now she was content to memorize the layout of the library and the whereabouts of the most interesting looking books. All too soon it was time to leave the library for class, but Sienna managed to drag herself away with the promise of a fascinating Divination lesson.

When Sienna arrived at the classroom, she was surprised to find that it was perfectly normal. She'd heard stories of Trelawney's tower classroom with its perfumed fire and fat little poufs, so she'd expected something of the sort here. Instead, she found several tables facing a blackboard in front of which Professor Clannyte sat reading a book. She looked up as Sienna walked in.

"Oh good, Sienna, you're here. I'm glad you found the room. Sit down. Today we're starting your "Three Years of Divination in Two Weeks" course. I know we can do it. First of all, I know you said you'd been reading the textbook. How far have you gotten?"

"I'm almost half-way done reading it, Ma'am."

"Fantastic!" Professor Clannyte squealed. "That'll make things go faster. You've probably noticed by now that the book contains very little on tea leaves and dream interpretations. Although this class is called 'Divination,' it really isn't all that much like traditional divination. Of course, we do learn and even make use of some traditional methods, but we consider them a means as opposed to a goal. This class is about getting as much information as you can and using it to its fullest potential.

"We will begin by learning several different ways of getting information, then we will start learning tactical analysis, where we use it to our advantage. Because traditional divination is so unreliable, and our time is so short, we will skip most of it, at least for now. Instead, I'd like to skip forward into some more challenging, but also more useful, topics. In these two weeks I want to see if you can master truth potions, scrying, invisibility charms, and sensory boosters, besides the little bit of astrology and Arithmancy that I think you need to know. Besides learning these things, you also will need to learn how to counter any and all of them. I hope you're ready, because this isn't going to be easy."

Sienna quickly found that Professor Clannyte was right. They started with astrology, which was confusing at best. She'd read that portion of the textbook, so she knew the theory, but the actual practice was much harder than seemed reasonable. Making it more frustrating were Professor Clannyte's constant reminders that it was really not an accurate science so nothing found was necessarily correct. The fact that anything she discovered through traditional divination would need to be checked using other sources made Sienna wonder why they were learning it at all, but she wasn't going to question her teacher. At least she only had to spend a few days on the topic, whereas usually fourth years would spend the entire year on traditional divination.

When class ended, Sienna was exhausted. She knew Divination would get better as they started doing less actual divination, but that didn't make the current topic any easier. However, she didn't have much time to dwell on the matter because she had two hours of sword fighting coming up.

The sparring arena, like everything else at Atlantis, was large and imposing. Sienna felt dwarfed walking into it. Professor Gladinor was in the middle of the arena, fighting a dummy that had been animated using magic. She watched him for a second as he expertly wielded his sword, before he lopped off the dummy's head and turned toward Sienna.

"Good, you're here," Professor Gladinor said shortly as he set his sword down on a bench. "Today I want to find you your sword. If we have time, I'll see if you have any natural talent. Come on." He walked into a small building adjacent to the arena.

Sienna followed him into the room to find a weapons locker. A variety of swords, bows, staffs, knives, and other weapons were stored in there.

Professor Gladinor led Sienna to where the swords were kept. "Unlike wands, swords don't choose their wielder. However, you should be able to tell when you've found one that's well balanced for you. Pick them up, swing them around. Ask me if you have any questions."

For the next half-hour, Sienna tried sword after sword. They all felt wrong. Of course, she didn't really know what "right" would feel like, as she'd never even held a sword before. After trying every sword she could find, Sienna had an idea.

"Professor Gladinor, Sir, I have free time this evening after Wizard Dueling. Can I come back and keep working then. I think I had an idea to help me find a sword, but I need an hour or two to work on it."

Professor Gladinor scrutinized Sienna carefully before nodding. She thanked him quickly and took off for the library to put her plan into action.

Sienna stayed in the library until five minutes before class. Then she ran off to grab a bite of lunch before class actually started. Somehow, she made it to Divination on time.

They dove right back into astrology where they'd stopped in the morning. This time they did more application and less theory, making it even more challenging than the morning class. However, by the end of the two hours, the principles were starting to make some sense to her.

Soon, Sienna was hurrying to the Wizard Dueling classroom. As soon as she arrived, Professor Finnètte put her to work. Finally, Sienna had found a class she was good at. She already knew a lot of the jinxes and curses they were learning, and the ones she didn't know she picked up quickly. A class involving wands, spells, and set rules—Sienna was back in her element.

When the class ended Sienna headed back out to the sparring arena to finish her sword fighting lesson. Her trip to the library had not been in vain, because now she knew how to get the right sword.

Sienna arrived in the arena to find Gladinor waiting for her. "So, you can find a sword now?"

Sienna nodded and held out her wand. Closing her eyes, she held two fingers above her wand where she held it. She then began muttering a string of words under her breath as she slowly moved her fingers along its length. Small crystalline tendrils appeared under her hand and began wrapping themselves around the wand. They formed a silvery hilt before continuing on to create a spike that encased the end of the wand and extended several inches beyond it. Sienna grabbed onto the hilt and, with a few more words, caused a translucent red-gold blade to grow and spread from the central spike.

Sienna opened her eyes and looked at Professor Gladinor who was staring at her sword in shock. "What do you think?" She asked meekly. "It's still a work in progress. I need a few more hours to imbue the sword with all the necessary protections and attributes and refine the summoning spell itself so that it's faster."

Professor Gladinor held out his hand and Sienna handed him the sword. He examined it carefully before handing it back to her. "What made you think to do that?" He asked, speaking for the first time since she'd begun her magic.

"Well, you said swords weren't like wands and wouldn't choose their wielder. After trying all those swords and not having a clue what I was looking for, I found myself wishing one would choose me. Then I figured that since my wand had already chosen me, any sword with it at its core would have to work. It was harder than I thought to summon a sword around my wand, but I cracked it after an hour of research." Sienna smiled fondly at the sword.

Professor Gladinor considered Sienna for a moment. "I thought the school made a mistake when they let a transfer student into Amazonia; now I see why they did. You may yet earn your spot. However, you should know that as fancy as that piece of magic is, stunts like that are expected, even required of Amazons. It's nothing special where you are." Sienna's face fell a bit. "Regardless, you've done well. Let's see if you're as talented a swordsman as you are a witch."

The rest of the lesson passed in a blur of flashing swords. Sienna felt like she was doing decently, though she was drenched in sweat very quickly. After she and Professor Gladinor had finally stopped fighting, he said, "You're not terrible for a first-timer. You've got a little bit of natural talent and an excellent bond with your sword, but your movements are wild and your form is nonexistent. You've got a lot of work to do. Do you play Quidditch?"

Sienna, who had been flinching at almost every statement, while trying to catch her breath, suddenly looked up in surprise. "Er, yeah. At least, at Hogwarts I did. I don't know if I'll make the team here," She said, remembering Professor Gladinor's statement about her being "nothing special." "But I'm going to try. I play Chaser."

Professor Gladinor nodded. "Makes sense. I thought your reflexes were alright, but Quidditch does little to keep you in shape. That's one of the reasons we require these classes, by the way. Anyway, your homework is to find a time before next Monday to practice playing Seeker. It'll improve your attentiveness and your reflexes. You can go now."

Sienna thanked him and went back to her dormitory to shower before heading to dinner. There weren't many options for dinner due to how few people were eating, but everything was excellent.

As Sienna was walking back from the dining hall, she decided to look around the courtyard that was right outside the Amazon dormitory. In one corner of the garden there was a beautiful grassy place shielded from view by trees and a few flowering bushes. She still had her Divination books with her, so Sienna decided to sit there to do her homework. After a couple of hours of careful work, she'd finished interpreting the star chart Professor Clannyte had given her. Stretching, she put away her books and walked back to the entrance to the dormitory.

"Good evening," Sienna said politely to Artemis. "You know, I just realized that Professor Clannyte called you Diana. Do you prefer to be called Artemis or Diana?"

The miniature huntress looked up at Sienna thoughtfully. "I suppose it really doesn't matter. I am both Artemis and Diana." She laughed, her voice like a wind-chime. "How was your first day at Atlantis?"

Sienna shrugged. "It was fine. There's a lot of work though, and I'm really only taking classes I'm behind in until school actually starts. I have a question for you though. Professor Gladinor made a comment about Amazons and the expectations others hold for them. Are the students really that superior?"

Artemis hesitated a minute before answering. "Yes, I suppose all of you are rather exceptional. Do you know the origin of Amazonia?" When Sienna shook her head, Artemis continued. "Amazonia is the oldest college here. It was founded almost four thousand years ago. When Atlantis was founded, all of its students were unified and came from the Atlantean Empire; most came from the capital, the great city, Atlantis, itself. After the fall of the city of Atlantis, the empire survived for several centuries. However, this school had lost many students, so it opened its doors to other nations. A small group of Amazon witches wanted to join the school, but were unwilling to share classes and dormitories with wizards. In an attempt to keep peace, the Headmistress agreed to create a college separate from the main student body for the Amazons. The Amazons dedicated their college to Artemis, the maiden goddess, in gratitude for having a place of their own.

"Over time, other talented witches were allowed into Amazonia besides the Amazons themselves, until the college was well-known for producing the most talented witches in the world. A millennium had passed since its founding when a boy requested permission to join the college. He said it was more prestigious than the ordinary school and those who graduated from it were superior. The Headmaster of the time was going to allow the boy to enter Amazonia, but, according to legend, the goddess Artemis appeared to him, either physically or in a vision, and demanded that he not defile the college that had been dedicated to her. The Headmaster agreed to allow Amazonia to remain an all-female college, but he felt sorry for the boy and created a college for boys also, so that the two would be equals. He named it Elysium, after the fields of the blessed in Hades.

"Olympia was not created until about fifteen hundred years later, but it has become the most prestigious college since then. However, Amazonia will always have the distinction of being the first college and producing the finest witches anywhere. So, to answer your question, you were given the distinction of being numbered among the five most talented witches of your year in the world. Don't expect to be able to surpass the other four, or even all of the younger students. You had a very good education up until now, but it doesn't even come close to an Amazon education."

Sienna thanked Artemis for the story and entered the dormitory. She was feeling a little sick now, thinking about the other Amazons. What would they be like? They were all obviously geniuses, so how would they react to having a transfer student in all their classes? Such thoughts were threatening to haunt her dreams when Sienna felt a familiar buzzing at her wrist.

"Hi, Harry," Sienna said into the now full-size mirror, trying to rearrange her features into a smile.

"Sienna, are you alright? You seem a little, I don't know, tense. How was your first day?" Harry looked worried about her, which made Sienna feel a bit guilty—he had more important things than her social life to worry about. Underneath, she was secretly a little pleased at his concern though.

"It was fine, Harry, don't worry. It was just a long day. Divination is confusing, how did you put up with it for three years?"

Harry laughed. "Well, Hermione couldn't if you'll remember. As for Ron and me, we mostly just laughed at Trelawney and made everything up."

Sienna groaned. "That's no help. I actually need to do this right if I want to pass the class."

They both laughed. "I don't know, you still seem a little down." Harry said when they finally stopped laughing.

Sienna bit her lip and pulled Funky into her lap to postpone answering. Staring at the cat to avoid looking Harry in the eye, she replied, "I'm just worried about how everything's going to go when the other students get here. I'm starting to wonder if I'm out of my league."

"Sienna, you're probably the smartest person I know. You're an amazing witch and an awesome person. If any of them have problems with you, it's something wrong with them, not you."

Sienna smiled. "Thanks, Harry; that means a lot. I'll be okay. How are you guys?"

Harry updated Sienna on how he, Ron, and Hermione were doing. Sienna was shocked when she found out who R.A.B. was, and she comforted him when he told her about Ron and Hermione holding hands and how alone he'd felt. They talked for a while, but, eventually, Harry knew he needed to leave so that Ron and Hermione wouldn't get suspicious. Sienna understood, and they said their goodbyes.

Sienna felt better after having talked to Harry, but she was still nervous. She figured the best thing for her to do was to work hard and get ahead in all her classes. She'd also use some of her free time to practice Quidditch, both as Seeker and Chaser, so that she would have a better chance of making the team.

Sienna fell asleep determined to make the most out of her first two weeks and ready for the challenges that the school year would bring. Her dreams were untroubled, except for the golden koi swimming throughout all of them, repeating a mystic warning as he swam upstream.

. . .

Starting the next day, Sienna was busy every moment, either with class, homework, Quidditch, or exploring the school. She met a few of the resident ghosts, but none of them could tell her anything more of Atlantis history than Artemis had. She spent the majority of her free time split evenly between the library and the little garden outside her dormitory.

Sienna was fascinated with the magic of Atlantis. The bubble that provided safety, air, and light was far more complex than she'd realized. For one thing, it was a bright white light during the day, but it turned to a dim bluish silver light at night. In fact, that was the only way to tell the day from the night. Most of the smaller bubbles inside did the same thing. Those could be changed if necessary, though. She still wasn't sure how the plants grew, since it never rained and there was no actual sunlight, but she figured the magic that imbued the place was responsible.

Soon, the two weeks had passed and the weekend before school was due to start had arrived. Sienna had completed what she needed of both Divination and Sword Fighting in order to join the classes with the other Amazons. She was getting nervous again as she knew the train would be arriving in a few hours. To keep her nerves at bay, she decided to get in some extra swordplay before the start of term feast.

Sienna had improved considerably in only two weeks. Her reflexes were faster, and her endurance had grown greatly. She could now practice various stances and swings and even fight animated dummies. She was in the middle of a particularly tough battle now. The dummy had a wooden sword, but it would still hurt if it hit Sienna, so she took care to avoid it. Ducking a powerful backhand, she disarmed the dummy before quickly and efficiently beheaded it. She spun around as she heard clapping behind her.

"Sienna, you've gotten really good at that! I never liked swords myself, too heavy and unwieldy. Though, yours looks really nice. I heard about how you summoned it. That takes skill." Professor Clannyte paused to take a breath.

"Professor, did you need me for something?" Sienna asked quickly.

"Oh, yes, of course. The train will be arriving in a little over half an hour. You should probably shower, and then I want you to join me in the dining hall. Professor Fontayre will introduce you to the students right after she announces which colleges the fourth years will be in. After they took their tests at the end of last year, they had to wait to find out which college they'd be in. They finally find out tonight."

Sienna nodded and unraveled the spell on her wand, causing the sword to disappear. Then she returned to her dormitory to shower before the feast.

When Sienna arrived in the dining hall, she found Fontayre waiting for her. Sienna was told to wait in a room adjoining the hall until it was time for her to be announced. She would not be seen, but she would be able to watch the fourth years as their colleges were announced.

Sienna sat in the room talking to Clannyte until her professor had to leave and take her seat in the hall. Then Sienna sat in silence, listening as footsteps began to sound in the entrance hall. She heard the students enter the dining hall and take their seats. Everyone outside was talking happily. Sienna began to feel sick again.

Suddenly, a hush fell over the students. Sienna watched as Fontayre began to welcome everyone back to the school. She called the fourth years up to the front and began reading off which college they were in. Most of them were Trojans, but there were several Olympians, Amazons, and Elysians in the mix as well. The students who became Olympians seemed the most excited, but all of them looked happy to finally belong somewhere. Whenever anyone was placed in one of the top three colleges, Professor Finnètte would tap them on the head with her wand and their robes would change from black to their college color. Sienna now understood why her own robes had been changed to black for her introduction.

Finally, the last student had been received by his college, and Professor Fontayre quieted the students again. "I know all of you are ready to eat, but I have a special announcement to make. For the first time in well over a decade, we have a transfer student. Please welcome seventh year, Sienna Sinclair."

Sienna took a deep breath and walked into the dining hall. The students clapped politely, but Sienna wasn't looking at them; she was focused on the Headmistress. When she reached the place where Fontayre stood, she turned and faced the students, still not really looking at any of them.

Fontayre continued, "Miss Sinclair has been a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry until this year. She finished the admissions process at the end of last term and, tonight, will officially join her college. Miss Sinclair," She said, turning to Sienna. "I'd like for you to join your new classmates in college Amazonia."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger, but next week you'll get to meet Sienna's classmates! Stay tuned!


	5. Does and Leopards

_"Miss Sinclair," Fontayre said, turning to Sienna. "I'd like for you to join your new classmates in college Amazonia."_

The room was silent as Finnétte stepped forward and tapped Sienna on the head to change her robe colors. The shock of the students was palpable. A transfer student placed in Amazonia? That hadn't happened in centuries.

Feeling lightheaded, Sienna forced herself to breathe and turned to look at her new schoolmates. The Olympians looked shocked but were whispering to one another, mildly impressed. The Trojans mostly looked confused, but the few who seemed to understand what was happening were glaring back at Sienna enviously. The Amazons and Elysians mostly looked curious, as if asking themselves who this girl was who would be joining their classes.

Sienna felt Headmistress Fontayre gently push her toward the students. The brunette shook herself and made her way to where the other seventh years were sitting at the far end of the Amazon and Elysian table. Two of the Elysians, one with long silver hair tied back out of his face and one with messy dark brown hair, slid apart to let her sit. Gratefully, Sienna sat down between them.

From the head table Fontayre cleared her throat and continued speaking. "I trust you'll all welcome the new additions to your colleges. As for start of term notices, Quidditch tryout dates will be set by your team captains. However, the final team roster must be turned in to your college supervisor within a fortnight. Tomorrow morning you will set your schedules for the year. That is all the notices for tonight. Now eat, my dears; be merry; and enjoy yourselves!"

She clapped her hands and the silver dishes covering the tables filled with food. The hall erupted into good-natured chatting.

"Ah, _bonjour_! You are Sienna, yes?" Sienna looked over at the girl across from her who had spoken. She had long curly gold hair and stunningly turquoise eyes. The girl was absolutely gorgeous. "I am Lynne, Lynne Benoit. This," she continued in her lilting French accent, gesturing toward the handsome, darker boy with artfully mussed hair beside her, "is my boyfriend, Lucero Alvar."

Lynne continued around the table introducing one person after another in rapid-fire succession. Very quickly, Sienna lost track of the names. She'd have to meet people properly later, when she didn't think she was about to pass out. At least Lynne was friendly. Next to her was a tall girl with cropped blood-red hair who was engaged in her own conversation with some younger girls down the table and hadn't even looked at Sienna.

As Sienna looked at each of her new classmates in turn, a few stuck out. The brunette boy next to her with the captivating brown eyes and long lashes. The guy with the silver ponytail on her other side who smiled and laughed easily with a sparkle in his violet eyes. The bleach-blonde girl with the cold grey eyes and superior expression. All of them, though, were among the most attractive people Sienna had ever seen. Her own soft brown waves and warm chocolate eyes made her feel positively homely by comparison. These people could easily have been models. All of them.

"Jeez, Lynne, you're going to talk her to death. Give the girl some air." Lynne looked at the brunette, pouting slightly. He rolled his eyes and turned to Sienna. "I'm Hale Lamont. Sorry about Lynne. She's trying to be nice but she doesn't get to play tour guide all that often."

Sienna smiled weakly at Hale, entranced by his gleaming brown eyes. "Thanks, it's nice to meet you." Then she turned back to Lynne who was being consoled by her boyfriend, Lucero. "Ah, it's alright, Lynne. Thanks for making me feel welcome."

Lynne smiled back at Sienna, and soon the group was chatting amiably. As her classmates talked, Sienna finally turned her attention to the food, which looked and smelled heavenly. She only recognized a fraction of the dishes, though. Lynne was eating some soup that Sienna vaguely remembered the Beauxbatons students eating fourth year, Lucero and the Asian girl next to him were both eating some sort of noodle dish, and Hale and the red-head were filling yellow tortillas with grilled meat and vegetables. Sienna couldn't believe the selection and had no idea what to try. The silver-haired boy noticed her indecision.

"Does Hogwarts not have our selection?" He asked laughing. Sienna shook her head. "Well then, you should know that the bouillabaisse is excellent as is the yakisoba." He gestured first toward the soup Lynne was eating, then toward the noodle dish. Then he began helping himself to a dish of pink fish. "Overall, my favorite is _definitely_ the maple glazed salmon. You should try some." As Sienna opened her mouth to thank him, he picked up a piece and popped it into her open mouth. It really was good, but Sienna barely registered the flavor since her brain had short-circuited in shock.

" _Ash_ , that's _creepy_! You can't just _feed_ people like that!" Lynne spluttered. Ash smirked at her, not looking in the least penitent.

"Ah, see, I've been telling y'all for years that Rene was a perv. It's about time he admitted it."

Ash looked over at the red-head coolly. "Carter, I'm not sure if you're aware, but no one thinks you're funny. Tough luck." He shrugged.

The red-headed girl, Carter, looked furious. "For your information, I'm much more well-liked than _you_ are. _I_ , at least, have a boyfriend."

"Yeah, because you'd make fun of me way less if I had a boyfriend. _That_ makes sense." Ash rolled his eyes dramatically, eliciting a laugh from the tall tawny guy next to Carter.

"Fox, don't you dare side with him!" Carter yelled, spinning around to slap him on the arm. Sienna guessed he was her boyfriend, but she wasn't sure.

Obviously attempting to end the argument, Lucero jumped in. "Carter, does that mean you and King are back together?"

Carter brightened visibly and replied, "Yeah, we got together on the train."

Sienna heard Hale mutter under his breath, "Wonder how long it'll last this time. A week? Tops?"

Ash laughed. "Not even. I bet they'll be fighting tomorrow." Both laughed quietly but Carter didn't notice. Lucero, Sienna noted, did smile.

As she enjoyed her food, Sienna thought that, if nothing else, the group seemed friendly. They didn't appear to be stuck up pricks, as Ron had figured they would be, or overly distant to her, as she herself expected. In fact, they seemed almost normal.

Soon, the meal had ended, and everyone was dispersing to their dormitories. Sienna walked back to the Amazon dormitory with her new peers.

"Good evening, Lady Artemis," Sienna said as she walked up to the urn.

"Ah, good evening, Sienna. And everyone else has arrived as well. Welcome back my friends!" Artemis laughed gaily.

"Lady Diana, I trust you had a good break? I am delighted to be back," Lynne sang as she approached. The two had such similar voices it was kind of alarming.

"I had a beautiful break. Yours?" Artemis asked happily.

"Excellent as well. What is the new password?"

"It's _puellae imperium_ ," Sienna responded quickly.

Artemis smiled and opened the entrance, letting the Amazons pass. Once the rest of Amazon College had arrived in the common room, the bleach blonde Sienna had noticed at the table stopped them. She was the tallest of seventh year Amazons, and her long white blond hair fell in a thick braid over her shoulder.

"Good evening, sisters. My name is Freja Melker. I am the college lead this year.  
To those of you who are new to Amazonia, welcome. There are a few things that you need to be aware of. First, absolutely no boys in the dormitory at any time." The statement was punctuated with a few laughs from the older students who received a glare from Freja in answer. "Second, our college supervisor is Professor Clannyte. If you have any problems, she will be happy to help you. Lastly, seventh year, Carter Glass, is Quidditch captain again this year. She has informed me that we will have tryouts next Monday night directly after classes. That is all. Have a good night."

With that, everyone scattered to their individual rooms. Sienna followed Freja, Carter, Lynne, and the petite Asian girl she hadn't met yet down to their room, where the girls finally relaxed.

"Ah, welcome back everyone," Lynne cried happily, collapsing onto her bed. "Is everyone ready for our annual truth-or-dare welcome-back-to-Atlantis game?"

The others laughed and took a seat in a circle on the ground. Sienna wasn't sure if she was quite comfortable enough with them to play. After all, the Asian girl had a bit of a manic gleam in her eye and Carter seemed the type to humiliate everyone.

"I'll pass if you guys don't mind. I have a few things I need to do before we get swamped with work. I'll see you later."

The others nodded without really looking at her, so Sienna took her leave. She decided she'd head down to the Quidditch pitch and get a bit more practice in. She was feeling a bit queasy and needed to distract herself. The whole group seemed so close. Also, not only were they all attractive, they all looked extremely athletic too. Beyond all that, Sienna knew that they were all supposed to be prodigious witches and wizards as well.

To get her mind off everything, she soared into the air. She practiced her Chasing for a while, but it was difficult to practice on her own, so she switched over to Seeking. Sienna had been practicing playing Seeker just like Professor Gladinor had instructed her. She was getting pretty good and, honestly, it was improving her Chasing ability too.

She'd been practicing for a while when she heard Carter's voice from below her. "So, you play Quidditch, do you? Seeker?"

"Er, no. I've always played Chaser. I just practice Seeking to improve my reflexes." Sienna called back as she descended to where Carter stood watching.

"Well, that's certainly better for you. If you'd been a Seeker you'd never have made the team. I'm the Seeker. It's a good idea to improve your reflexes though. Let's see what you've got." With a flourish, Carter mounted her broomstick, a Firebolt, and joined Sienna in the air. For the next half-hour she alternated between playing with and against Sienna in order to judge her skills. It was pretty incredible how talented she was. Carter, a Seeker, was better at Chasing than most of the Hogwarts Chasers. Sienna had to play her best just to keep up.

Finally, Carter stopped. "You're not too bad. You actually might make it as a Chaser if you keep practicing. Even if you don't, I'm pretty sure you'll land a spot as an alternate. Either way, I'm impressed. Let's head back to the dormitory."

Sienna nodded and the two walked back to the common room. On the way, Carter told Sienna a bit more about the group. She explained that, between Amazonia and Elysium, there were now ten seventh years, five from each of the two colleges. Everyone was mostly friends with each other, but with a couple exceptions: Carter and Ash were nemeses (her word) and Carter and her boyfriend, Latharn ("though I call him 'Fox'") King, were always alternating between best friends, worst enemies, and boyfriend/girlfriend. Sienna finally understood Hale's comment about how long they'd be together. Besides that, everyone was really friends. The ten were split into two fairly distinct groups, however. Carter, Lynne, Lucero, and Latharn were a tightly-knit group as were Ash, Freja, the Asian girl (Kiki was apparently her name), and an Italian boy Sienna hadn't noticed at dinner named Sil. The only real exception to the grouping was Hale, who was best friends with Ash, but also close with Lucero and Latharn.

"So, Sienna, you're welcome to hang out with us. You can hang out with Rene and his friends if you want, but we're much cooler. Honestly, though, we all hang out together most of the time, so it's not much of an issue either way."

Sienna smiled at Carter. "I get it. I'd love to hang out with you guys. Between you and Lynne, I think I've found the official welcoming committee." Carter laughed and the two joined the other girls who were now regaling one another with their adventures over break.

…

When Sienna woke up the next morning, it took her a minute to remember that she was no longer alone in her dormitory. The other girls weren't up yet; Sienna had woken up early due to another koi dream. She rose and got ready quickly before slipping out of the dormitory.

When Sienna emerged in the corridor, she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to do in the hour before class. She considered practicing her sword-fighting, but what she really wanted was to talk to Harry. She debated for a moment before deciding that he'd probably be up.

Sienna had found a nice little cave behind the waterfall earlier in the week and that was where she went that morning. Once she'd clambered into its depths, Sienna cast a few protection spells, just enough to warn her if anyone was coming without drawing the attention of the professors. Finally, she unclipped her mirror charm and returned it to full size. "Harry," she said quietly. She watched for a moment as the mirror swirled before Harry's face appeared in it.

"Good morning, Harry. I didn't wake you, did I?" Sienna said smiling.

"No, I've been up for a little while. How are you? The other students arrived yesterday, right? How are they?" Harry asked, looking concerned.

"They're not too bad," Sienna responded thoughtfully. "All the Amazons and Elysians are beautiful. It feels unnatural. Besides that, they all know each other really well. I mean, think of how you would have felt if you'd found out that there was going to be another Gryffindor boy in your year. It would be really weird. I feel like I've walked in on these people's family or something. With that being said, they're being really nice to me." Sienna proceeded to tell Harry about the feast and the various people she had met.

He listened attentively, and, when she had finished, said, "They're a bit strange, but, you're right, they seem nice enough. Have you figured anything out about that dream you were having?"

Sienna sighed. "I have no idea what to think. I don't get why some koi would get to the spring but not become dragons. It sounds like they choose whether or not they want to be dragons. But why wouldn't they want to fly?"

"Maybe they were scared," Harry supplied helpfully.

Sienna shook her head slowly. "No, I don't think that's it. If that were the case, we would praise the koi's courage, not his perseverance."

The two mulled over the question for a few more minutes before admitting they had no idea. They chatted a little more after that. Harry told Sienna about Lupin and the argument they had had. He also told her about the plan to sneak into the ministry to retrieve the locket from Umbridge.

Sienna smiled throughout the conversation. She was so happy to be talking to her friend again. After meeting all those new people, she liked the comfort of an old friend. All too soon, however, she needed to end the conversation so she could go to breakfast.

As Sienna walked to the dining hall, she thought about the day ahead of her. She really didn't know what a normal day of classes would look like. Everything was so different at Atlantis. She knew she'd get through it, but she was still a bit nervous.

When she arrived, she found that it was still a bit early and most people hadn't gotten to breakfast yet. The only other seventh years at their table were Hale, Latharn, and Kiki. Sienna sat down next to Latharn, across from the other two, and heaped her plate with kippers and toast.

"'Morning, Sienna," Latharn said cheerfully. "I heard you're going to try out for a position as an Amazon Chaser. You don't sound too bad from what I heard, so good luck. Though, if you get it, you'll be playing against Lamont here. He's one of the Elysian Chasers. Plus, I'll be whackin' Bludgers at you as hard as I can. Shouldn't be too bad."

"Er, ok. How did you know I'm trying out for Chaser?" Sienna asked, very confused.

"Pixie told me," He responded, shrugging.

Sienna was just as baffled as she'd been before he answered. She looked at Hale for help.

"Carter. King calls her Pixie. Carter calls him by a nickname, so King calls her Pixie because of her haircut." Hale smirked as he explained.

"Oh, I get it," Sienna said relieved. "So, both of you are on the team?"

"Yeah," Latharn replied quickly. "Sil's the only seventh year Elysian not on the team. Lucero's Keeper, and Ash plays Seeker opposite Pixie. I think that's one of the reasons the two don't get along well."

"More likely it's because they both have heads a bit too big for their bodies," Hale laughed.

"Well, yeah, I s'pose that could be part of it." Latharn admitted, trying hard not to laugh.

"Oh, you four are here early," Professor Clannyte said happily as she sat down next to Sienna. Behind her stood a tall, middle-aged man with short straw-colored hair. Sienna could tell just by looking at him that, at one time, he had been incredibly attractive, even though he wasn't anymore. "Well, then, let's go ahead and set up your schedules, shall we? Sienna, since you're new to our system, I'll start with Kiki then help you. Oh yes, Sienna, this is Professor Fischer, our Transfiguration teacher. He's supervisor for Elysium. Now, Kiki, let's get your schedule set up."

Clannyte looked at a list and tapped on a blank schedule with her wand. After a moment she said, "Kiki, do you want to take any Honors courses this semester?"

Kiki smiled. It was the first time Sienna had seen it. She looked beautiful when she smiled. Well, she was always gorgeous, with her straight black hair and matching eyes, but smiling turned her cold artistic beauty into a personable sort. "Of course, Dark Arts, as usual. With N.E.W.T.s coming up that should be plenty."

Clannyte nodded and tapped the schedule again. "Here's your schedule then. You've got a pretty light one this year." Then she turned to Sienna. "You ready to look at yours?"

Sienna nodded. "Yeah, but what do you mean by Honors courses?"

"Oh, we have some classes that are not required but can be taken by choice. We call them Honors classes. Often they're harder than normal classes because they are more in-depth. Some of them can take the place of a required class after O.W.L.s are completed if you so choose. For example, Kiki takes Dark Arts, so she isn't required to take Charms. Your required classes are Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense against the Dark Arts, Divination, History of Magic and your Combat Classes. Amazons must take at least one Honors class. We have many choices, from Healing to Fine Arts to Ancient Runes to Political Science. Almost anything you could be interested in could count as an Honors course."

Sienna's head was spinning. So many fascinating classes! She wasn't sure what she wanted to take.

"That makes it really hard to choose. At least we got to look at the list." Hale interrupted. Apparently he had been listening ever since he finished his own schedule. Then he turned to Sienna. "I'd think about what you're good at and what you want to do after school. Find related courses. I take Political Science because I'm thinking about going into politics. I also take Spell Creation because it's fun. Everyone does something different because everyone has different skills they value. Think of it that way."

Sienna smiled then thought for another minute before turning back to Clannyte. "I'd like to take that Spell Creation class for sure. I've always liked the thought of going into the Ministry of Magic after I graduate, so Political Science might not be a bad option either. I really love Ancient Runes, so I'd like to take that also. Is that alright?"

Clannyte nodded and tapped the schedule. "Your Ancient Runes marks met the minimum requirements for seventh year so that won't be a problem. Spell Creation can take the place of Charms. Would you like it to?"

Sienna shook her head. "I'd rather take both."

"Well, that won't leave you a lot of extra time, but I think you can do it." Clannyte finished the schedule, handed it to Sienna, and stood. As Sienna read it over, she saw that Clannyte was right; it would be challenging to get everything done. However, she was certainly going to give it her best shot.

"Good morning," Lynne sang out from behind them, sitting down in the seat Clannyte had just vacated. "Ooh, you got your schedule! Let me see what you are taking!" Sienna handed her the schedule and she looked it over eagerly before frowning. "Ah, we won't be in any Honors courses together. I take Healing and Fine Arts. Carter's not in any of those three either. Lucero will be in Political Science with you though."

Sienna laughed. "Do you have everyone's schedule memorized?"

Lynne blushed lightly, " _Oui_ …."

Sienna, Hale, and Lartharn broke down laughing.

"What? Is it a problem that I care about my friends?" Lynne asked looking hurt.

"Of course not, Lynne. They just couldn't help laughing because that blush was so cute," Lucero said sweetly, wrapping his arms around Lynne from behind. Sienna watched as Lynne instantly relaxed into his embrace. She was a bit surprised, a bit touched, and a little bit envious as well. She'd never had a boyfriend, really. She'd liked Harry for a few years, but it had never done her any good. One of the Beauxbatons boys had taken her to the Yule Ball fourth year, but nothing had come of that either. Now here she was at a new school with classmates that had known one another for years. So much for having a boyfriend before she graduated…

Sienna shook herself from her thoughts. "So, besides Lucero and Hale, who else is in my Honors classes, Lynne?"

"Well," Lynne said slowly. "Freja takes almost everything so she will be in Spell Creation and Ancient Runes, and I believe King is in Spell Creation. That's all though."

"Okay, I'll admit, it's cool that you know that. Thanks," Sienna responded, laughing once more. "Can I have my schedule back now?"

"As you wish," Lynne giggled, handing Sienna back her schedule. Sienna looked it over carefully. She had double Potions until lunch and then double Divination and finally Ancient Runes. Not a terrible day, but exhausting for sure.

Slowly the rest of the seventh years trickled in. As they each got their schedule, Sienna realized that Lynne had been completely right about who was in her classes. She was impressed. Finally the only ones not there were Carter and Ash.

"Hey, King, where's Carter?" Sienna asked, realizing that they only had ten minutes until class.

"Pixie? She's always late for breakfast. She'll make it in time to at least eat a piece of toast then walk to class with us." He shrugged looking unconcerned.

Sure enough, five minutes before class, Carter threw herself into the seat Latharn had saved for her. She started shoveling food into her mouth.

"Hungry, Carter? Did you not eat last night? I could have sworn you were stuffing your face then, too," Purred a boy with spiky platinum blonde hair that Sienna hadn't noticed before.

"Shut up, Rene," Carter growled, throwing him a withering glance, but not slowing her breakfast.

"Wait, Ash?" Sienna asked in surprise. "Is that you?"

"Of course, who else would it be?" Ash replied back smirking.

Sienna could feel her mouth hanging open as she stared at him, bewildered. "Sienna, Ash is a Metamorphmagus," Hale said calmly, getting up from the table. Sienna looked at him in shock before turning back to Ash. Now that she really looked, she could tell. His face was mostly the same shape, and the gleam in his now green eyes was identical to the one yesterday. "Come on, we have to go to class," Hale grabbed her by the arm and pulled Sienna to her feet. She felt a little warm as he released her, and she could swear the whole room could have heard her heart thundering.

Hale shot her a smile, a real one, and began walking out of the dining hall. It only took Sienna a moment before she followed him. Together, the ten seventh years walked out into the entrance hall. Hale led the group toward a small alcove with a doorway in it that apparently led to the Atlantean equivalent of the dungeons. However, as they approached it, Lynne broke off from the group and turned toward the dormitory.

"Lynne, aren't you coming to Potions?" Sienna asked, stopping.

"Oh, I do not take Potions. It is not really my thing. Healing counts for Potions so I don't have to take it. I will see you at lunch though." Lynne gave Lucero a quick kiss and waved at the group before flipping her hair and disappearing down the corridor leading to the common room.

Sienna turned and followed the rest of the group down into the dungeons. Well, "dungeons" wasn't precisely the right word for them. The walls looked like some sort of pearlescent blue shell, and the same orb-lights illuminated this corridor as the ones above it. In fact, the only thing remotely dungeon-esque about the corridor was the lack of windows and flowers.

They walked into the room that held their Potions class. Inside, a middle aged man with dull red-orange hair and thick spectacles was waiting for them. "Welcome back, students. Ah, and a special welcome to our new Amazon. Sienna Sinclair, correct? Well, take a seat."

Sienna looked around at the classroom. There were three tables, each seating three. Apparently the classrooms were set up with the exact number of seats for the class coming in. Once more, Sienna found herself seated between Ash and Hale.

"I am Professor Rinne. As you may know, this semester we will be focusing on the more complex antidotes and other healing potions. However, Professor Clannyte has asked that we begin by brewing a batch of Polyjuice potion for use in her Divination classes. This is a difficult potion, especially if you want the effects to last. However, I think you are well prepared and should have no problem. Now, turn to page forty-seven and begin."

Sienna stared at Professor Rinne for a moment. They were expected to brew Polyjuice potion in class? She was confident that she could do it, after all, she and Hermione had managed a competent batch in their second year, but it was still surprising.

"Sienna, you alright? We can help you if you need it." Hale said quietly, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Oh, thanks Hale, but I'll be fine. I was just surprised." Sienna smiled at him before opening her book.

"Of course, Hale. Why would she need your help? I'm right here," Ash added leaning his arm onto Sienna's shoulder and looking around her at Hale.

"Why would you need Polyjuice potion? You're a Metamorphmagus." Sienna interrupted, gently pushing him off her.

Hale laughed, and the three began their potions. It seemed like no time at all before Rinne stopped them. "This potion will take several class-periods to complete. If you fall behind you will need to come during your free time to catch up. As soon as we finish we can get started on the Wolfsbane potion, so I encourage you to work quickly. You're dismissed."

The class packed up and returned to the dining hall for lunch. Afterwards, they had Divination, which was much the same as it had been the past two weeks except, now, Sienna wasn't the only student. Until the Polyjuice potions were ready, the class was working on Legilimency and, of course, Occlumency. They were starting with the theory, but would be moving on to actual practice soon.

Double Divination dragged on as Sienna took pages of notes. It actually came as a relief when Clannyte told them they could leave.

"Wow, that must've been the most boring Divination class since fourth year," Latharn said, stretching, once they'd walked into the hallway.

"I don't know, it wasn't _too_ bad," Freja said thoughtfully. When everyone looked at her in disbelief, she shrugged. "I like lectures."

Latharn shook his head, looking pained, while Carter started groaning theatrically. Sienna, Hale, and Ash laughed.

As the group separated to go to their various Honors classes, Sienna smiled thoughtfully. She was really excited about the year, now that she was getting more comfortable with her classmates. It would be nice, she realized, to actually have a year where she could focus on her homework and friends without worrying about crazy plots or death-courting adventures.

Smiling, she followed Freja to Ancient Runes. The class was taught by an incredibly old Russian witch named Professor Drenyiv. This class, like all the others, was much harder at Atlantis than at Hogwarts. Making it even more difficult, the only other student in the class was Freja, and she had the top marks in their year.

When Drenyiv dismissed them, she held Sienna back for a moment. "Sienna, you're new, so I don't want to make this too difficult for you. You didn't finish the assigned translation in class, but for this week only I will allow you to finish your work for homework. Starting next week, though, I will need to pick up what you've finished and grade accordingly, understood?"

Sienna nodded stiffly, trying to process what she'd been told. Ancient Runes had always been one of her best subjects. As she wandered down the hall toward her dormitory, she decided she needed to fly a bit to clear her head.

Sienna arrived in the common room just as Carter ascended the stairs from the dormitory, holding her broomstick. "Are you going to practice?" Sienna asked, gesturing to the broom.

"Yeah. You wanna come?" Carter grinned, eyes alight with the prospect of being in the air.

Sienna nodded and quickly swapped her school bag for her broomstick. The two walked out to the pitch and began practicing. The more she practiced with Carter, the better Sienna noticed herself becoming. Carter really was talented, and just trying to keep up with her for an hour was improving Sienna's skills more than the two weeks of training alone had.

They finally stopped so that they could shower before dinner. As they began walking back to the palace, Sienna felt a buzzing at her wrist. She frowned. "Carter, you go on ahead. I forgot something at the Quidditch pitch."

Carter nodded absently, her gaze fixed on where Latharn and Lucero were sitting under a tree nearby. She ran over to greet them as Sienna quickly made her way to her little cave.

"Harry, what's up? We talked this morning. I know you want to know how the first real day was, but couldn't you have waited a bit longer?"

"Sienna," Harry's voice was flat. Sienna was startled to see how pale his face was. "I know I'm supposed to be blocking him, but I can't help seeing what he's doing. Sienna, he's got someone there. Voldemort has a spy at Atlantis."


	6. The Spy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay, but here's the new chapter! Feedback is always appreciated. Thanks for reading!

_"What?!" Voldemort spat, spinning around to face the man who had spoken. "One of the Potter boy's Hogwarts friends is at Atlantis? Why didn't you alert me of this sooner?"_

_"My Lord," Severus Snape drawled. "Our spy is situated there. There shouldn't be any problems."_

_Voldemort stood quietly for a moment. "Is Janus here?" Seeing Snape nod, Voldemort continued, "Bring him to me."_

_Snape bowed and left the room quickly. After a moment, a hooded man entered and bowed low. "You asked to see me, my Lord?"_

_Voldemort turned to him. "Janus, it was just reported to me that one of Potter's friends is currently at Atlantis. Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"_

_Janus visibly shuddered. "My Lord, I reported it as usual. I did not realize it merited any unusual action. However, our spy is aware of the issue and what must be done to prevent any disruption of our plans. The girl is safely out of our way, where she cannot interfere with us nor help the Potter boy."_

_Voldemort turned toward the fire, an evil smile disfiguring his snake-like face. "All is well, then. Just make sure she doesn't cause any problems."_

_Janus bowed and left the room. Still staring at the fire, Voldemort stroked the thick black snake curled around his shoulders. "Nagini, we must remain aware of her, but at least now we know that she is in good hands. Our spy will not betray us."_

_There was no answer but his own soft laughter, as the scene swam into darkness._

. . .

Sienna hadn't moved since Harry had finished recounting his vision of Voldemort. After the story, they had spoken for a moment, but neither was really in the mood to talk. Since then Sienna had sat, staring at the blank mirror in her hands. She had honestly thought she was safe. She had been so sure that this year nothing bad would happen; at least, not to her. Yet here she was, in the last safe place on earth, with one of Voldemort's spies watching her every move.

In a daze, Sienna looked out of the cave. The luminous bubble that, only yesterday, was a source of awe for her was now a glowing cage, trapping her in this place with an unknown enemy.

After a while, Sienna became aware of how late it was. Dinner must have begun a while ago and she hadn't showered. Carter would become suspicious if she showed up like this, so Sienna quickly performed a spell to clean up her appearance. She would have preferred an actual shower, but the spell would have to do.

Sienna gave herself another minute to regain her composure before making her way quickly to dinner. As she walked, she considered the situation. Voldemort had a spy here. It could be anyone. Most likely though, the spy would be a teacher. Students come and go; their impermanence renders them poor spies. On the other hand, several of the students, including her own dorm-mate, Kiki, had actively chosen to study the Dark Arts.

Now that she thought of it, Kiki hadn't spoken a word to Sienna since they'd met. They had even sat next to each other at lunch, but Kiki had completely ignored her in favor of talking to Hale, who had been sitting across from them. She decided that she would have to watch Kiki.

The first step would be to try to get a look at her arm, but surely she wouldn't be wandering around with a Dark Mark tattooed on her. For now, Sienna decided, she'd have to lay low and avoid raising the spy's suspicions. At the moment, she had the advantage since she knew of the spy and the spy didn't know it. She could discretely ask around as she got to know people better.

Sienna hadn't realized that she'd stopped walking in the middle of the entrance hall, consumed as she was with her thoughts, so she started when she heard a voice. "Are you going to dinner, or are you just planning to stand out here all night?"

Sienna jumped and spun around to see Hale and Ash walking into the entrance hall with their broomsticks. They had evidently taken over the Quidditch pitch as soon as she and Carter had left.

"Er, yeah, sorry. I just got caught up thinking about something," She answered a little too quickly. "Are you two coming?" Sienna asked over her shoulder as she began walking into the dining hall. She saw Hale's unconvinced look and Ash's shrug. But they followed her, and the three walked into the hall together.

"Sienna, Hale, over here," Carter called, waving, as the three approached.

"And what am I, a bug?" Ash said scornfully, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table.

"Uh, yeah. What, did you think you were more than that, Rene?" Carter responded haughtily, not deigning to look at him.

Ash just shrugged and began talking to Freja about the next day's schedule. Hale smiled, and he and Sienna sat in the seats Carter had saved for them. On Hale's other side, Sienna saw a boy with long dark brown hair and dark eyes who sat, reading. She was pretty sure he was Sil, the remaining Elysian in their year. He had been in Potions and Divination with her, but for some reason, Sienna hadn't really noticed him up until then.

"Um, you're Sil, right?" Sienna said slowly, looking at him around Hale.

Sil looked up slowly from the book he'd been reading. He turned to her with that glazed, lost-in-a-book sort of expression. It took him a moment to process the question, but then he nodded. Hale looked between them with an amused look.

"It's nice to meet you; I'm Sienna. We had classes together earlier, but somehow we didn't actually meet. What are you reading?" Sienna was always interested in anyone who had their nose in a book during a meal. Besides, she wanted to meet the others in her class. Sil didn't answer. He just blinked at her owlishly.

"Sil, are you going to make Sienna do all the work? This is where you're supposed to answer." Hale finally said laughing, breaking the awkward silence.

Sil looked at Hale and nodded. "Yeah, I'm Sil. You're Sienna. Welcome."

Sienna was glad he'd answered, but she'd been hoping for something a little more . . . well, more. "What is your book about?" She rephrased the question so it didn't sound like she was prodding.

Sil glanced down at it quickly. "Muggle medicine."

Ash had noticed their conversation. Sighing, he said, "Sil, how was your first day back? How is seventh year Care of Magical Creatures?"

"It was really good. Everyone's doing well. I was worried about them over the break, but they've been well taken care of." Sil's voice was still quiet, but it came much easier when he was talking to Ash. Sienna remembered Carter telling her that they were close friends. It was kind of weird, because the two were so different, but they appeared to complement each other.

As Sienna watched and listened to her new friends converse, she noticed that Sil really only talked to Ash, Kiki, and occasionally Freja. With everyone else, he was extremely closed. Sienna frowned slightly. He kind of reminded her of herself, especially that first year at Hogwarts. Back then, Sienna had been super shy around everyone except Harry. It took the whole year for her to start talking to Ron and Hermione. It made her sad that even as a seventh year, Sil didn't seem to have gained that openness.

Kiki and Freja, Sienna realized, were also complete mysteries to her. Freja seemed to be relatively aloof with everyone. Kiki, though quiet, didn't have the layer of ice surrounding her that Freja did. However, based on the glares Kiki kept shooting her way, she did seem to have an impressive grudge against Sienna, considering they hadn't even spoken yet.

"So, Sienna, what did you think of your first day?" Lynne said suddenly, breaking Sienna from her thoughts.

"It went better than I expected. The classes are harder here than they were at Hogwarts, but I knew they would be. You guys are really nice, and I'm glad I'm getting the chance to know you." Sienna forced a smile.

Lynne seemed satisfied. "Well, I for one am truly glad you're here. It has been far too long since we have had a new classmate." With that Lynne turned the conversation to reminiscing. Sienna enjoyed hearing stories of the fun times and the hard times her classmates had been through. It was kind of hard to listen to, though, because she was new and hadn't been there to witness the original events.

Dinner passed in such happy reflection. Afterwards, the group split up, a few to the library, a few to their dormitories, etc. Sienna retreated to her secluded corner of the garden, hidden by the trees and flowers, to work on her homework. She stayed there until the dome had dimmed to signal the night, then returned to her dormitory for bed.

For the first time in weeks, the koi was not alone in her dreams. A shadowy figure stalked her from the bank as she tried to speak to the golden koi. As usual, the beautiful fish passed her by, swimming unceasingly against the current, the whole time repeating its cryptic words: "No one goes looking for fool's gold, but many find it and mistake it for gold."

. . .

"Well done today, everyone," Professor Finnétte said loudly, signaling the end of Charms class. The five students (Carter, Kiki, Freja, Latharn, and Ash had opted to replace Charms with either Dark Arts or Spell Creation) ended their spells and looked up at their teacher. "As you can see, this year will be harder than last, but you all are doing really well. Keep working hard!"

Sienna smiled as she packed up her books. The class had been hard, but at least everyone else had been struggling too. So far, the second day of school was far better than the first, but she had sword-play next, so she didn't want to get her hopes up too high.

Everyone had their Intermediate Combat classes next, and so Sienna followed the other Amazons back to their dormitory so they could change into their combat clothes, a simple tunic and pants in Amazon colors. After changing quickly, Sienna left and walked out to the sparring arena.

It hadn't occurred to her that she might have a classmate, but when she arrived, Sienna found a shirtless Hale sparring with Gladinor. Sienna stopped to watch their fight for a moment. Both teacher and student had excellent form, and the power with which their swords met was incredible to watch. Without meaning to, she felt herself focus on Hale. The muscles in his back and arms rippled as he fought. She felt her cheeks heat up a bit as she tried not to gawk. Finally, Gladinor noticed her and stopped the fight.

"Sienna, good, you're here. I assume you've met Lamont?"

Hale turned around and raised an eyebrow at Sienna in surprise. "Your weapon's a sword? Shouldn't you be with Lynne fighting with fans or something?"

Sienna had intended to vehemently defend herself, but that last comment de-railed her. "Lynne fights with _fans_?"

They stared at each other for a moment before both began laughing. "Seriously, though," Hale finally managed to catch his breath and walked over to where he'd thrown his tunic. "Is your weapon really a sword? Amazons hardly ever choose swords. It's weird enough for me as an Elysian."

Sienna nodded, still gasping for breath and grateful that the laughter gave her an excuse her for flushed face. Although Hale had now replaced his tunic, she was still very aware of his bare arms. "Yeah, I know I'm weird but I love the idea of sword-fighting so I couldn't help myself. But did Lynne really choose fans for her weapon?"

"Yeah, it's her advanced combat, one of the professors volunteered to give her private lessons as it's not a standard option." Hale stopped for a moment, frowning. "What's your advanced combat then?"

"Erm, it's Wizard Dueling. What's wrong?" Sienna felt herself frowning as well.

"That's what I thought. You are officially in all of my classes."

Sienna gaped at him. He was right, she realized. She was in the same honors classes with him, except for Ancient Runes, and neither had replaced any of their required courses.

Before either could say anything more, Gladinor interrupted. "You two have talked plenty long enough. I want to see you two spar so I can see how far behind Sienna is. Miss Sinclair, you'll need your sword."

Sienna pulled out her wand hastily. She noticed Hale's confusion, but she just smiled as she summoned her sword. She watched smugly as confusion turned to incredulity.

"How did you—?" Hale began but Gladinor cut him off.

"You can ask about her fancy sword later. I need to guard your swords, and then I want you sparring straight for the next hour."

Professor Gladinor cast a pair of spells, guarding the edges of the swords, and then put the two to sparring. Hale was good, Sienna realized quickly. Much better than she was. He disarmed her a dozen times and landed even more blows. The guard prevented his sword from slicing through her, but it didn't prevent her from getting badly bruised. To make matters worse, his sword was several inches longer than hers, making it very difficult for her to get close enough to strike at all. By the time Gladinor called them to a halt, Sienna was shaking with exhaustion and trying to minimize her weight on her battered left leg, while Hale was barely breathing hard.

"If I had been grading the two of you today, which I wasn't, Miss Sinclair, you would have received an A. Congratulations. Lamont, as always, outstanding." Without another word, he walked away.

Sienna was really upset. Just Acceptable? She'd never received an A in her life.

Hale, glancing over at her, apparently noticed her dismay. "Sienna, an A is not a bad score, especially here. Besides Amazon and Elysian classes being harder, we are graded harder too. An A here would most likely have been an O in a Trojan class and would almost certainly have been the top score at Hogwarts, no offense. My point is, you're passing this class at the moment, at Amazon level, after only having picked up a sword for the first time two weeks ago. So don't think you're doing badly."

Sienna was watching the ground through his whole pep-talk, but she finally looked up at him after he'd finished. "Thanks. I guess you're right. It's just hard to go from top of my class to dead last."

Hale looked at her quizzically for a moment, before realization dawned on his face. "Wait, you don't think we all get O's, do you?" When Sienna nodded sheepishly, he laughed. "Sienna, only Freja gets _all_ O's. I get O's and E's; that's where most of us sit. Carter gets almost straight A's though. As I said, we're graded harder to make sure we don't all get O's. So, you may be a little behind, but not by as far as you think. Your charms work today was deserving of an E at least, putting you ahead of Carter."

Sienna had perked up as she listened to him. When he finished she was smiling. "Thanks, Hale. Not just for that, but for everything. You've been really nice and welcoming to me since I got here. I was really nervous, but I think I'm starting to feel better now."

He returned the smile, and together they walked back into the main building so they could get cleaned up for lunch.

The rest of the day passed normally. History of Magic was far more interesting now that it was taught by a live person, though Sienna wasn't sure how she felt about having Professor Drenyiv for two classes. The old lady seemed nice enough, but she wasn't an easy teacher and she seemed incredibly knowledgeable.

Afterward, Sienna arrived in her first Political Science class and was surprised to see two additional students that she hadn't met. Apparently some Honors classes were so small that they were shared with Olympians as well. The two girls (Sienna thought the professor had called them Tatiana and Ksenia) kept to themselves, however, leaving Sienna to sit with Lucero and Hale. After classes, she and Carter practiced Quidditch for a few more hours. Sienna was actually starting to feel ready for the tryouts, which was lucky, because she had less than a week left to prepare.

Homework was starting to pile up, but Sienna had had plenty of practice keeping up with obscene amounts of homework, so she settled down after dinner for another night of homework in the garden. Once she made it to bed, Sienna was again tormented by dreams of the spy, but this time, she dreamt Hale was next to her, helping her to figure out who the spy was. For the first time since she'd arrived at Atlantis, Sienna was able to sleep soundly through the night, waking at her alarm with a smile on her face.

. . .

Wednesday was another day full of new classes. Defense against the Dark Arts was reminiscent of the class at Hogwarts when the fake Alastor Moody was teaching. The teacher, Professor Rathi, was also the Dark Arts teacher, so she had an in depth knowledge of curses, hexes, and jinxes that they needed to be able to defend themselves against. If the textbook was any indication, they were going to see some truly nasty curses before the year ended.

Wizard dueling was much the same as it had been before the term started, but now Sienna shared the class with Hale as well as Kiki, Freja, and Ash. Sienna was paired up with Kiki for the first half of class, and the petite girl knocked Sienna on her ass more times than she could count. She seemed to get a sick pleasure out of it too, her eyes glimmering every time she landed a hit. Sienna was frankly relieved when they rotated partners at the halfway mark and she was able to return to practicing with Finnétte

Transfiguration, on the other hand, was a relief for Sienna. It had always been her best subject and, even though the material was harder than it had been at Hogwarts, Professor Fischer was no more demanding than McGonagal had been. And since the lesson in transfiguring dogs between different breeds was similar to her own work in self-transfiguration, Sienna was easily performing at the top of the class.

As her classmates filed out, Fischer pulled Sienna aside. "Miss Sinclair, that was very good work today. I had heard you were a prodigy in Transfiguration and I can see the rumors were correct."

"Thank you sir." Sienna smiled broadly, relieved she'd found a class she was performing well in.

"How do you like Atlantis?" Fischer asked gently, motioning for Sienna to sit down.

"I like it here. Classes are hard, especially since there are several I never took at Hogwarts, but I'm enjoying the challenge. Everyone's really nice."

Fischer nodded, smiling. "I'm glad. My boys are treating you well?"

Sienna was confused for a moment before remembering that Fischer was the college advisor for Elysium. "Yes, sir. They're great. Hale and Ash in particular have been helping me get settled."

"Very good. Feel free to let me know if you ever need anything. It's good to have you here. You deserve it."

Sienna thanked him before hurrying from the room on her way to Ancient Runes. She was thrilled to have one of her teachers tell her she truly deserved her spot. Most had only seemed to begrudgingly accept her, and Fischer was the first to explicitly tell her that she had earned her spot at the school.

Her good mood lasted through her last class and out to the Quidditch pitch. When she arrived, Sienna was surprised to see Latharn and Hale flying with Carter. She'd never seen Carter practice together with the Elysians, but as Sienna mounted her own broom to join the others, she was impressed by the boys' skill. As much as Sienna enjoyed practicing with Carter, having the larger group made the practice all the more intense.

As the four began walking back to the main palace for dinner, Sienna was broken from a lively debate over professional Quidditch ("Clearly you know nothing because the American team is going to the next World Cup," Carter had insisted while the two boys rolled their eyes) by the now familiar buzzing at her wrist. She paused for a moment, thinking of an excuse to return to the pitch, when Hale turned back toward her.

"Sienna? What's wrong? You should hurry up. It's sushi night and it'll all be gone if you're late."

His eyes were bright and warm and drew her closer. For once, she didn't really want to talk to Harry. She wanted to spend this time with her friends. Maybe she'd take her homework up to the waterfall after dinner and give him a call, but for the moment, she happily followed her friends into the hall for dinner.

. . .

The rest of the week passed quickly. Her bruises from her Tuesday sword-fighting class had only started to fade when another round of sparring covered her arms with more. Unlike the first day, Sienna managed to land a hit on Hale. It was only one, and he didn't give her another opening, but Sienna was glad he'd come away with at least one bruise as well.

Hale was able to get her back the next day when they were paired up for Dueling. She found herself flung to the floor again and again, despite her best efforts to defend herself. It was only when she decided to move into an offensive stance that she was able to hold him off. Even then, he landed far more hits than she did. When Sienna was finally able to switch partners, she noticed Kiki smirking at her over Hale's shoulder.

Sienna gritted her teeth. That girl had a serious grudge against her and possibly a sadistic streak. She probably would have been laughing outright if she'd gotten to watch their sword-fight the day before. This weekend, Sienna thought, she'd see if she could uncover proof linking Kiki to the Death Eaters. After all, she reasoned, only a Death Eater could take that much pleasure in another's pain, especially that of a stranger.

Sienna spent the lunch period weighing different plans for learning about her Dark Arts-loving classmate. She didn't think she could trick Freja or Sil into telling her Kiki's backstory, but maybe if she chose the right places to study, she could overhear something.

Her scheming wasn't interrupted until the group rose for their afternoon Honors classes. Sil was smiling broadly as he and Lucero left for Herbology class, Lynne and Carter chatted amiably as they returned to the Amazon common room, and Kiki looked relaxed as she and Ash headed toward the library to get ahead on homework. The Spell Creation students began climbing the stairs to the fourth floor where they were greeted by a marble statue of a tall man in a long tunic and a carefully draped robe. Sienna assumed he must be wearing traditional Atlantean garb.

"Good afternoon, Midas," Hale greeted the statue easily. "I hope you had a good break. We're supposed to meet Headmistress Fontayre in her office for seventh year Spell Creation, correct?"

"Ah yes," the statue of Midas drawled. "I suppose you all are seventh years now. Mr. Lamont, how's your mother? I miss seeing her walk these halls."

If Sienna hadn't been watching Hale (though she would have denied that's what she'd been doing if anyone asked) she would have missed how his eyes went dark and his body tensed at the mention of his mother. However, the expression passed almost immediately and Hale answered the statue easily. Perhaps she had been mistaken. Though, now that she thought about it, Hale had never mentioned his parents—most of her classmates hadn't mentioned their families in fact. Thinking of her own mum with her distant expression and constant traveling, Sienna couldn't really blame them.

The four students walked down the long hallway to the Headmistress's office together. Inside, they found Fontayre standing in the antechamber waiting for them.

"Welcome students! As you know, it is my great honor to teach the seventh year Spell Creation class for Amazons and Elysians every year. Back when I taught regularly, I was always impressed by my Spell Creation students, and so I wanted to continue teaching the final year as Headmistress. Today, I want to focus on learning more about each of you, your repertoire of spells, and where you want to go after school. To this end, I've prepared tea for us. Do follow me."

Fontayre led the four up a second hidden set of stairs to another small room opposite her office. This one had a small table set for five with tea and cakes. Sienna sat down and happily accepted a cup of tea. The soothing oolong was delicious and Sienna settled in to wait for Fontayre to begin the class.

After making sure everyone had tea, the Headmistress took her own seat and looked around at the four students. "Now that everyone has tea in them, I will go first. I first became interested in creating original spells when I was an Amazon here. Like many Amazons over the years, I was frustrated that we couldn't have boys in the dormitory and wanted to find a way around that. I created my own spell that allowed me to enter the common room without passing Lady Diana."

Sienna felt her jaw drop as Latharn let out a bark of laughter. Freja wore a small frown of disapproval while Hale's face betrayed the barest hint of a smile.

"Of course, the first time I tried to use my spell I set off a series of alarms alerting the teachers to my deed. I was in detention for weeks. But the experience taught me that my understanding of magic was limited, and that there was still much for me to discover. I soon found that magic isn't about complex spells and incantations, but about a set of simple rules and building blocks. Using the foundations of magic, a skilled witch or wizard can accomplish almost anything.

"When I returned as a teacher, I continued my studies. The crowning achievement of my career in this area is the lights throughout this school. I created a form of artificial light that would continue without fuel or conscious casting, would change brightness with the falling of night, and could even support the growth of vegetation. Before this, Atlantis had no gardens or trees due to the lack of sunlight."

Fontayre looked around at the four dumbfounded faces surrounding her. "This is the power of magic combined with skill and creativity. I brought greenery back to Atlantis for the first time in almost four thousand years. Each of you is capable of leaving a similar mark on the world. Over the next year, I'll work with you individually and as a group to help you achieve your true potential."

Fontayre let the students sit and think for several minutes, as all five drank their tea in silence. It was Latharn who finally spoke. "Professor, I know you're… familiar with some of my original spells. How are you so confident that we can accomplish something like what you've done? Surely not every graduate of Atlantis or even Elysium is out changing the world like that."

"Ah, Mr. King. Before I speak to your particular case, I will answer your broad question. You know the mascot of our school and its significance." Sienna felt her breath catch and she watched Fontayre closely. "The students of this school are like koi, swimming upstream in search of enlightenment. Once you arrive you will become dragons and fly out into the world to spread enlightenment and use the knowledge you've gained."

"Um, Headmistress," Sienna interrupted quickly. "Does every koi who reaches the riverhead become a dragon?"

Fontayre looked at Sienna for a long moment before giving a small smile. "What an odd question. The legend only speaks of one koi. However, why would any koi go through all that trouble to swim upstream and not turn into a dragon?"

"I—I don't know." Sienna's voice faltered as she stared down at her hands. She'd been so distracted since classes had started, she'd stopped thinking about the koi's puzzle. Now, however, she wondered again why the other koi were still at the river's source, rather than ascending to the heavens.

"As I was saying, Mr. King, each of you has the potential to change the world. Whether you reach that potential is up to you. I know you in particular don't consider your spells to be important; however, you are very talented. I remember the year you had the waterfall flowing in reverse for almost two weeks before we were able to reverse it. To you it was a prank. To me, it was a demonstration of your exceptional talent."

Sienna looked at Latharn in awe. The amount of power that would have been required to reverse the flow of a waterfall was extraordinary. Latharn looked a bit embarrassed as he toyed with one of the cakes. "It wasn't that big of a deal, ma'am."

Fontayre chuckled. "Now, I want to hear from you. What is it you have done that you're proud of and what do you want to accomplish?"

Over the next two hours, the four students alternated telling their professor of their own history creating spells. Sienna reluctantly demonstrated both her sword conjuration and her transfiguration into Rosy. Latharn showed off a few of his favorite spells he'd developed for pranks, including one that made everyone's voices squeak for several minutes until a smiling Fontayre had conjured a bit of wind that brought everything back to normal. Freja was reluctant at first to speak, but Fontayre finally turned to her and started asking questions directly. "Miss Melker, my dear, I know your father wants you to go into politics, but have you given any thought to what you want to do after graduation?"

Freja frowned for a moment. "I know he wants me there, but I honestly don't want to go back to Sweden. I've spoken a bit to Professor Drenyiv, and I think she wants to retire in the next few years. I've been thinking about applying to take over her classes. I can spend a few years studying on my own first so that I'm ready to teach when she retires."

"That's a splendid idea! This will also allow you to stay nearby and continue your research on Atlantean civilization, yes?"

Freja smiled. "Yes, I'm thinking of starting a book. There's so much history here that's never really been captured, at least not in any modern language."

Sienna considered Freja carefully as she and Fontayre continued talking. She seemed warmer now that she was talking about history. Besides that, even Fontayre appeared impressed with her knowledge of ancient Atlantis and the Amazons. When their conversation turned to ancient runes and the writing of the Atlantean empire, it occurred to Sienna that perhaps Freja would be willing to help her with Ancient Runes class, at least until Sienna got used to the pace. The class would certainly be more enjoyable if the two girls ended up being friends.

When the class finally ended and the four students made their way back down to the Entrance Hall, Sienna realized that she hadn't actually learned much about Hale throughout Fontayre's questioning. He'd shown off a couple unique scrying spells as well as a nifty spell to help calm restless dreams, but his answers were often impersonal, and several times he'd redirected questions to the other students. It was one of those redirections that had led to Sienna explaining how she conjured her sword.

Before she could think about it any longer, Latharn turned to the rest of the group. "So, you guys want to hit the library before dinner? We've got that massive essay on the ten most common mistakes people make when brewing Polyjuice potion for Rinne. It'll go a lot easier if we all work together. After that we can work on the Defense against the Dark Arts essay on varieties of magical fires. If we get a good start on our essays, after dinner we can take the night off and relax."

Even Freja agreed to the plan, and soon the four were laying claim to an empty study room in the library. Latharn went to find the other seventh years while Freja and Sienna went to collect the books they'd need for the essays.

"Er, Freja?" Sienna said softly, nervous about asking for help. "Later this weekend, could you help me with Ancient Runes? I've never had a problem with it before but Drenyiv is really strict and you're a lot better at the class than I am."

Freja stared at Sienna for a long moment, her eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Um, sure, I guess. If you want to. I'm sure you'll do fine in the class anyway, but I don't mind working together."

Sienna smiled warmly at her. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

Freja smiled slightly. "Sure. You're welcome."

The two gathered their books and walked back to the rest of the group in companionable silence.

…

The rest of the weekend was spent dealing with homework and practicing for Quidditch tryouts. After a few more sessions with Carter and even another one working with Hale and Latharn, Sienna finally felt ready.

Monday morning's potions class flew by. The Polyjuice potion was finicky, but Sienna had done it before and had no trouble with her potion. After lunch, the group headed upstairs for their second Divination class, where they were finally getting to practice Legilemency and Occlumency. As soon as they arrived, Clannyte paired everyone up indiscriminately, leaving Sienna facing Sil.

Sienna felt a little strange trying to break into the mind of someone she'd barely spoken to, but she figured at the very least she'd get to know him. As they stood facing each other, Sienna took a deep breath, and attempted the spell. "Legilimens." Suddenly, Sienna didn't see the classroom; she saw a wall of vines, keeping everything out. She tore at them to no avail, and the spell broke.

"Are you ready?" Sil asked softly. When Sienna nodded, he raised his wand and muttered, "Legilimens."

Sienna saw herself flying with Harry, practicing Quidditch one warm afternoon their third year. She saw herself flying in a game, trying desperately to win the cup. Then she and her sister Sylvia were playing Quidditch during the summer as little Stella clapped from the ground. Finally, Sienna remembered she was supposed to be blocking Sil, so she began concentrating solely on the grass in the memory, blocking all other thoughts and emotions. She felt the pressure of Sil's presence fade, and she opened her eyes to find herself on the ground.

Sienna stood up, feeling awkward. No one else was on the ground. Lynne nodded encouragingly, but Kiki was smirking pointedly again. Sienna frowned and turned back to Sil. She'd have to try harder this time.

Instead of yelling, she cast the spell non-verbally this time, but with all the focus and willpower she could muster. Instead of the vines, she saw flames. At first she thought she'd failed again. Then she smelt the smoke. It was all-consuming; she couldn't breathe. Finally, the screams began. Two children screamed in unison, their voices mingling with smoke-laden air. The flames and the heat and the smoke were all around. She couldn't think, couldn't see anything but the fire, couldn't breathe. Suddenly, she caught a whiff of the smell of soil, and a wall, much stronger than the first, slammed against her. The force of it was so strong that Sienna was thrown back into the wall of the Divination classroom.

In front of her, Sienna could see Sil kneeling on the floor of the classroom, his head in his hands, his eyes glazed in pain. Ash ran over and knelt next to him, muttering words Sienna couldn't hear.

"Are you alright?" Hale asked her. Sienna nodded absently, still watching Sil. What was that? What had she seen? She wondered if he was mad at her. He still hadn't moved from the floor.

Hale helped her up and they walked over to Sil where Sienna stood next to Ash. "Sil, I'm really sorry. Are you alright?"

Sil didn't respond. Kiki had walked over now too and was speaking quietly to him. He had finally moved his hands and was actually looking at her.

Ash stood, grabbed Sienna by the arm, and pulled her roughly from the room. She was too surprised to resist. "What did you see?" He asked once they were in the hall. There was no humor in his voice and the sparkle in his eye had dimmed.

Sienna, slightly afraid of this new side of Ash, answered quickly, her voice breaking. "I saw fire. And someone was screaming. It was really scary. I couldn't see anything through the smoke and the flames."

Ash nodded slowly, looking worried. "But why would he have thought of that? And how'd you even get that far? Sil's so guarded." He was muttering to himself under his breath. Then he looked at her again, sharply. "He got through your defenses, right? What did he see?"

Sienna, confused, said slowly. "Well, I've got Quidditch tryouts tonight so just a few memories of me playing Quidditch."

"No, what _exactly_ did he see?" Ash demanded.

Sienna, trembling slightly, told him the exact scenes. Ash stared at the wall frowning as she did so. When she mentioned her sisters, his head snapped toward her. "Your sisters? About what age?"

Sienna frowned. "Yeah, my sisters. Sylvia was about thirteen, and Stella was ten, because she hadn't started school yet."

Ash sighed. "That would do it. That fire you saw, Sil's twin sister died in it. They were about ten. Seeing your sister must have reminded him of his own." He sighed again. "Don't worry about it. It's just a painful memory for him. He'll be alright." Without another word, he turned and walked back into the classroom.

Sienna was horrified. Sil's sister had died in a fire? He must have witnessed it too, or else she wouldn't have seen the memory. If she had only warned him, he might not have been forced to relive the experience.

Slowly, Sienna walked back into the classroom. Sil was now standing, his hand on Ash's shoulder. Kiki had his other hand and was still reassuring him. She shot a venomous glance at Sienna as they led Sil out the door, obviously taking him to Atlantis's Hospital Wing.

However, they weren't the only ones leaving. As the rest of the class began to file out the doors, most of them either didn't notice Sienna or wouldn't meet her eye. Hale put his hand on her shoulder and led her out of the room gently, so differently from how Ash had pulled her from the room just a few minutes before.

"Are you alright?" He asked her again.

Sienna looked at him for a moment before shaking her head. "I feel awful. I didn't mean to make him relive painful memories. I was embarrassed at being the only one on the ground, so I didn't warn him before I cast the spell. Otherwise, I wouldn't have caught him off-guard like that." Sienna bit her lip to hold back tears.

Hale took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Please don't worry about Sil. He's got Care of Magical Creatures now, and I know he'll feel better afterward."

Sienna smiled at Hale and squeezed his hand back. "Thank you." She said quietly. When he released her hand, it felt cold and empty. She fought the urge to reach for it again and instead turned to make her way to Ancient Runes. Freja gave her a small smile when she entered and the two began working on the day's translation. Sienna dove into it fully to distract herself from her worries for Sil and her anxiety over the evening.

As soon as class ended Freja and Sienna collected their brooms and went out to the pitch. Quidditch tryouts at Atlantis were similar to those at Hogwarts. The ten or so Amazons trying out were grouped by position. Carter then had them try out group by group.

Sienna certainly didn't feel particularly superior, but she did think she'd held her own. Her practice as Seeker had certainly paid off, because she had some of the quickest reflexes among the Chasers.

After everyone had flown, Carter stood for a moment talking to Freja. Freja had technically tried out also, but the fourth year trying for her spot as Keeper hadn't had a prayer.

After a few minutes of deliberation, Carter got everyone's attention. "Thank you everyone for your time and patience. The official lineup is: I, Captain Carter Glass, will be playing Seeker. Freja Melker will be returning as our Keeper. Johanna Vogel and Zyra Thomas will play as Beaters. Lastly, Hyeki Song, Abike Lenu, and Sienna Sinclair will be the three Chasers. Congratulations to this year's Amazon Quidditch team!"

Sienna couldn't believe it. She'd made it. Despite her worries about the spy and her guilt over hurting Sil, she'd done it. Maybe Atlantis wouldn't defeat her after all. Even if she wasn't top of the class, she had new friends, a spot on the Quidditch team, and a year full of exciting challenges ahead.

Sienna grinned as Carter patted her on the back and Freja smiled at her. She wasn't alone anymore. As she walked back to the common room with her new teammates, Sienna was finally confident that her year at Atlantis would be a good one.


	7. Dragons

If Sienna was busy before, it was nothing to her schedule now that she had Quidditch practice multiple times a week. Between the difficulty of her classes and Carter's strictness when it came to Quidditch, Sienna had next to no time.

Although she'd never been busier, Sienna realized about a month and a half into the term that she'd also never been happier. At Hogwarts, she'd spent her time almost exclusively with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and, since Ravenclaws had never been particularly well-known for their sociability, she'd really never had any other close friends. Although she'd only known them a short while, Sienna felt closer to her new classmates than she ever had to her old ones. Ever since making the Quidditch team, Sienna had found Freja to be far more open. She was doing much better in Ancient Runes now that she had her only classmate's help.

Apparently winning Freja's respect had done something to help win Kiki's as well. At least Kiki would speak to Sienna now. She still wasn't friendly though, and continued to throw dark looks her way on occasion. She also still seemed to be the most likely spy. Sienna had yet to find any proof, however, and trying to listen in on her conversations wasn't yielding results either. In fact, Kiki seemed perfectly normal and nice, just not when interacting with Sienna.

As for her other classmates, Sienna still hadn't managed to open Sil up very much. Ever since the Legilemency debacle, he had been a little leery of her, but Sienna was trying to be particularly open and friendly with him. At least he'd look her in the eye now when he gave his short, vague answers.

On the other hand, Hale had really become Sienna's best friend. Since they shared almost all their classes, they ended up spending a lot of time with each other studying outside of class too. She really enjoyed his company. In fact, Sienna had noticed that she missed Hogwarts, especially Harry, significantly less when she was with Hale than at other times.

Her classes were still very difficult, but Sienna was enjoying them a lot. She was getting primarily E's, though with a couple A's and O's thrown in. Divination and sword-play were still difficult, but Sienna was able to make up for them with her excellence in Charms and Transfiguration.

Even with her general happiness, there were still days she missed her friends and family. Sienna woke on the morning of her birthday, the seventh of October, feeling particularly homesick. Usually, her sisters, Sylvia and Stella, would have come into her dormitory and jumped onto her bed and given her a birthday cake they'd convinced the house elves to make. However, her sisters weren't with her at Atlantis. They were somewhere far away in South America, being taught rudimentary magic by their mum while she tried to conduct her research. Her parents couldn't even send her a birthday card, Sienna realized sadly.

As Sienna lethargically rose and began getting ready for the school day, she felt the familiar buzzing at her wrist. It had been a few days since she had last spoken to Harry, so Sienna was looking forward to seeing him. She turned off the buzzing and quickly got ready before retreating to her little cave.

"Hi, Harry," Sienna said when she finally activated her mirror.

"Happy Birthday, Sienna!" Harry said loudly, as soon as he appeared.

Sienna smiled. "You remembered?"

Harry nodded, grinning. "Of course I remembered. You're one of my best friends. How could I not remember your birthday after seven years?"

Sienna laughed. "You're right. Well, thank you for calling. I had just woken up and realized that no one here knows it's my birthday."

"Well, you could just, you know, _tell_ them," Harry said pointedly.

Sienna grimaced. "You know I don't like talking about things like that. It's not a big deal. They probably don't even have big birthday celebrations. You know we never did at Hogwarts." Even as she said it, Sienna thought back to a few weeks before when the group had gotten together in the garden outside Amazonia to celebrate Kiki's birthday. They had gotten her a cake from the kitchens and a few had given her gifts.

Sienna shook off the thought, knowing that if she dwelt on it, it would ruin her day. They talked happily for a few minutes, though Sienna knew she would soon have to leave for breakfast. She hated goodbyes. However, she had gotten used to saying them, so her voice barely faltered as she forced out the words.

When Sienna walked into breakfast, she found most of the group already assembled. This surprised her, as the other Amazons had only just been waking as she left. They were used to her getting some study time in first thing in the morning though, so they never questioned her early rising habits.

"Good morning, Sienna," Hale said, smiling, as he moved aside giving her a place to sit.

Sienna returned the smile and took the seat gratefully. "Good morning, everyone." She responded smiling. But she leaned over to Hale and added, under her breath, "Why's everyone up?"

Hale just smirked and shrugged. Sienna frowned slightly, but turned to Freja, "Did Carter decide to schedule an extra practice tonight to prepare for our first match tomorrow?"

Freja looked up. "I'm not sure if she's thought through it, but if we want to have any shot of beating Olympia tomorrow, we probably need it."

Sienna shuddered, and Hale patted her on the shoulder comfortingly. This year, the first match of the season was Amazonia against Olympia. Considering Olympia almost always had the best team, this was likely to be the hardest match of the season. The Elysians, on the other hand, were going to be playing the Trojans in their opening game in November.

"Yeah, we really do need a practice. I talked to Fischer and he said we could share pitch time with the guys tonight," Carter said, sliding into the end seat next to Freja.

Sienna gaped at her in surprise. "Why are you up? We have half an hour until class starts."

Carter rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't always sleep late. I was up early today getting the strategy worked out with Johanna for the match tomorrow."

Sienna was surprised, but didn't argue. "So, what is the strategy?"

"Simple," Carter said imperiously. "We play well, and I get the Snitch."

"You got up early and worked with Johanna to come up with _that_?" Ash asked in disbelief.

Carter plunged into a flurry of arguments and excuses while the rest of the group laughed. As so often happened these days, Sienna felt her mind drawn off of her homesickness and back into the bright joy of her new life.

Breakfast passed cheerfully, though Carter was still a bit moody after being laughed at. Soon, the group was marching off together to Defense against the Dark Arts. When they arrived, Professor Rathi, a pretty, petite witch with long black hair, put the group straight to work. They were working on the Patronus charm.

"Now," Professor Rathi began, as soon as everyone was seated. "All of you know how to produce a Patronus, and most of you have succeeded in producing a corporeal one by now. Today is your last chance to achieve a corporeal Patronus, because next week we will begin studying uses for the Patronus charm besides repelling a Dementor. When you have succeeded thrice in a row, I will take you into the next room so that you may practice on the Boggart we keep here in the school for such activities as this. Begin."

Sienna smiled as she pulled out her wand. This she knew how to do. She had studied the Patronus charm a bit on her own third year, and had mastered it under Harry's tutelage in Dumbledore's Army during their fifth year. As she focused on the memory of the morning of Harry's birthday that summer, she could feel a bit of the pain from the morning returning. She frowned, and fought it back. She wouldn't be able to produce her Patronus if she allowed sadness to overcome her. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. When the memory had become sufficiently vivid, Sienna raised her wand. " _Expecto Patronum_ ," she muttered.

Opening her eyes, Sienna watched her Patronus, a graceful falcon, swoop across the room. Holding out her hand, Sienna watched as it flew back to her and perched on her wrist. She ran her fingers down its wraith-like neck, then watched it fade away into the air.

Twice more Sienna summoned her falcon, each time holding it in reality a little longer. After it had disappeared the third time, Sienna approached Rathi.

The Boggart was kept in a small chest in the next room. As Sienna entered its chamber, Rathi gave her brief instructions. "Make sure you hold the image of a Dementor in your head to ensure that is what the Boggart becomes. Cast your Patronus and maneuver the "Dementor" back into the chest, closing it in once it's there."

She took a step back and nodded for Sienna to begin. Raising her wand, Sienna unlocked the chest. As the lid opened, she held in her mind the image of the first Dementor she'd seen, the one on the train in her third year. Immediately, a breath-stopping cold seeped into the room and the colors drained out. The hooded figure rose menacingly from the chest, turning its unseen face toward her. Dark robes fluttered around it as it raised a shadowy hand toward her. Sienna, her face hardened against fear and despair, once more summoned her Patronus. The falcon erupted in a burst of silver sparks and dove toward the "Dementor." They struggled in midair for a moment before the falcon gained the upper hand and began pushing the Boggart back. Quickly Sienna supplied the needed energy, and, together, girl and falcon trapped the Boggart in its dark prison once more.

Sienna let the falcon fade and turned to Rathi, who smiled at her. "Very well done. You may continue working with your Patronus for the remainder of class, or you may begin your homework, an eight inch essay on the bond between wizards and their Patronuses."

Sienna returned to the classroom and, for the first time, looked around at her classmates. Lucero had been the first to face the Boggart and now he was helping Lynne with her Patronus. Sienna noticed with interest that several of her classmates were struggling with the corporeal Patronus. Freja and Carter were in line for the Boggart now, and Lynne, Ash, and Latharn were trying to get three consecutive successes; however, Hale, Sil, and Kiki were still only managing wisps of silver smoke.

Thinking of the roaring flames she had seen in Sil's memory, Sienna understood why he was struggling. However, nothing she knew of the other two explained why they would be sharing his difficulty.

Before she could dwell on the question, Sienna was distracted by two glistening foxes, rolling together on the floor. She looked up startled to see a triumphant Latharn opposite a smiling Carter, both with wands raised. Apparently, the duo shared a common Patronus. Lynne was radiant with the glow of a girl whose match-making had been confirmed as she excitedly told anyone who would listen that a shared Patronus indicates the presence of a soul mate.

Smiling, Sienna unrolled a piece of parchment and began work on her essay.

"Sienna," Hale called softly from nearby. Sienna looked up, blinking the fog of focus from her eyes. "Class is over. Are you coming?"

Sienna jumped up in surprise. "Yeah, I'm coming. Thanks for waiting for me." She gathered her books quickly and followed her classmates out into the hall. The group split to dress for their advanced combat classes. When Sienna rejoined Hale in the wizard dueling room, she realized she hadn't paid any attention to the end of Defense against the Dark Arts.

"Hale," she said quietly as the class waited for Professor Finnétte. "Did everyone manage to defeat the Dementor in Defense against the Dark Arts?"

Hale looked over at her. "Yeah. Sil finished just as class ended, and he was last."

Sienna smiled. "I'm glad. I was worried about him. I noticed you and Kiki were having trouble too. You two got it sorted?" Sienna waited for his nod before continuing, "Anyway, I didn't get to see your Patronus. Do you mind telling me what it is?"

"It's a polecat. I'm pretty sure it's a forest polecat to be specific," Hale replied nonchalantly.

Sienna cocked her head. "A polecat? Why? That seems a little random."

"Well, yours is a falcon. Do you know why?"

" _Touché_ ," Sienna said laughing. After a moment she continued. "To be honest, I'm really not sure why my Patronus is what it is. I find it a bit amusing, because the peregrine falcon is my favorite animal. I guess it has something to do with the whole flying thing. I love the idea of being able to fly. Falcons just seem so free, and they're so powerful despite their small size. I guess I have some sort of deep connection with them," she finished, laughing again.

Hale smiled. "I guess mine may be what it is because polecats are misunderstood. They have a bad reputation, but it's all based on cultural stigmas. Being raised by just one parent, I had to deal with a bit of that myself."

Sienna stared at Hale in shock. "I didn't know that. Was it your mum or dad?"

"Mum." Hale said shortly. As much as Sienna was dying to know more, she could tell that Hale didn't want to talk about it. He seemed uncomfortable talking about his family at all. Thinking back, she realized this was the first time he'd voluntarily mentioned his family to her.

"You know," she said softly after a few moments. "I was mostly raised by my father. My mum was sort of in our lives, but she traveled all the time. She basically left me to raise my sisters on my own. I didn't have to deal with the single parent stigma, but I know how hard it is to have to be an adult that early."

Hale cringed a little, then forced a smile. "Something like that. Thanks for trying to make me feel better." Before she could say anything else, they were pairing up for Dueling.

Sienna watched Hale thoughtfully throughout the lesson, even as she tried to fend off Freja's attacks. Why was Hale so upset? She thought he'd have felt better after her comment, but he seemed to feel worse. What was it about his childhood that made him so unwilling to relive it?

"Sienna, are you alright? You've been really distracted ever since Defense against the Dark Arts."

Sienna picked herself off the ground where she'd just been thrown by a particularly fast spell. "Yeah, I'm fine, Freja. I've got a lot on my mind today with the match tomorrow."

Freja nodded gravely. "That has made for a stressful day. By the way, since we all have free time before dinner, we're thinking about taking a long picnic dinner by the lake, just our class. Afterwards, those of us who have Quidditch practice will head over to the pitch. We figured we needed to relax a bit before tomorrow."

Sienna grinned. "That sounds great. Are Lynne and Lucero going to bring food up from the kitchens?"

Freja nodded. Sienna smiled thinking about how nice it would be out by the lake. The weather was never bad at Atlantis, but the temperature mirrored that of the rest of the northern hemisphere, making the early October air particularly crisp and beautiful.

The thought of the picnic effectively distracted Sienna from her various worries. Lunch passed pleasantly, as did Spell Creation.

These days, Spell Creation was one of Sienna's favorite classes. Most days Professor Fontayre would assign them a task or a problem and tell them to create a spell that would solve it. Sienna, Hale, Freja, and Latharn seemed able to solve anything by working together. Sienna had been pleasantly surprised to find that Latharn was brilliant at applying random information to create useful spells.

After classes had ended, Sienna still had a bit of time before the picnic, so she took her customary seat at the back of the library and pulled out her Patronus essay. She had finished about half of it in class, so she was able to complete it fairly quickly.

After rolling the parchment up, Sienna tucked it as well as the rest of her stuff into her bag. She wanted to change before Quidditch and, since she wouldn't have time after the picnic, she decided to do it beforehand. As she walked into the common room, Sienna noticed that none of the other seventh years were around. Upon asking a few of the younger members of the Quidditch team, Sienna discovered that no one had seen them in a while.

Unable to think of a better reason, Sienna decided she must be late and they must already be out by the lake. She hurried to get ready and was soon making her way across the grass.

When she crested the hill, Sienna saw the other nine all seated on a large silver and bronze blanket. Hale saw her and waved.

"I'm glad you made it," he said as she took a seat next to him.

"Me too. I didn't realize I was late. I'm sorry."

Hale shrugged. "Don't worry about it, you're not late."

Sienna looked around the ring of faces. There was some odd expression, carefully hidden on each face, which Sienna couldn't identify. "Am I missing something?"

Hale smirked, and Ash rolled his eyes. "If anything, I'm pretty sure _we_ would have missed it," Ash said, winking at Lynne.

Sienna turned to Lynne just in time to see her raise her wand before everyone shouted, "Happy Birthday!" Suddenly, Sienna was able to see a large cake and a small pile of presents interspersed among the plates of food.

Sienna gaped at the group. "How on earth did you know?"

Lynne smiled proudly. "During your potions class that first day I took the opportunity to inquire of Professor Fontayre regarding your birthday. I didn't want us to miss it."

Sienna looked around at the group again. Every person was smiling at her, even Kiki and Sil. They had planned this for her. Lynne had even taken the initiative to find out when her birthday was. She could feel her eyes welling up with tears, but she wasn't about to let them fall. Instead she smiled. "Thank you all so much. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Lynne crawled over and gave Sienna a hug. "It was our sincere pleasure. I'm glad we were able to give you a good celebration. Now _bon apatite_!"

Sienna laughed, and everyone began to eat. The house elves had outdone themselves—the food was delicious. It took all of Sienna's willpower to save room for the cake, but it was certainly worth the effort. The towering chocolate cake oozing with fudge had been specially ordered by Carter. As Sienna savored each bite, she knew she would never doubt Carter's taste in desserts.

After everyone had stuffed themselves full of cake, Lynne passed Sienna the first of the small pile of presents. "We did the best we could with your presents, though we've only known you for a few weeks. I hope you like them."

Sienna nodded, not trusting herself to speak, as she began unwrapping the presents. She opened a book of French children's stories from Lynne, a special pair of Quidditch gloves from Carter ("they'll make sure you can keep your hold on your broomstick in any weather"), a new runes dictionary from Freja and Kiki, a guide to notable ethnic foods from Ash ("you never know when I might not be around to identify such delicacies as maple glazed salmon"), a ring teeming with protective spells from Latharn and Lucero, and a small bottle of perfume Sil had made from a rare African flower in Herbology. Sienna couldn't believe all the presents. They were each so special.

"Thank you all," Sienna finally managed to say. "You guys are great. Thank you so much for all of this. It's definitely been one of the best birthdays I've ever had."

As Lynne moved over to give Sienna another hug, Carter stood up abruptly. "Come on guys, it's time for practice. We can bring the rest of the cake for the others to enjoy. Up, everyone!"

Sienna laughed as Hale helped her up. Before she could follow Carter, he pulled her aside and placed a small silver box in her hand. "Here's my present. I wanted to give it to you myself."

Sienna smiled at him and opened the box. Inside was a tiny silver weasel-like creature. "It's a polecat charm. I noticed your charm bracelet so I wanted to give you something to remember us by. I was going to get you a koi fish, but I decided to be selfish in the end."

Sienna glanced up at him, puzzled. "Selfish?"

"A koi would have reminded you of all of us, but I really only care that you remember me." Hale looked down at her, his enchanting brown eyes appearing to burn in the light. Sienna felt a shiver run through her body.

"Come on, we have practice." With that, Hale grabbed her hand and led her toward the Quidditch pitch. Sienna looked down at the polecat charm resting in her hand. It was beautiful. Smiling, she closed her fist around the charm and, without resisting, allowed Hale to lead her to practice.

. . .

"Ladies, this is our hardest matchup this year. I think we can win it, though, because this is one of the best teams we've had in years. Plus, no offense, no one expects you to do well, Sienna. They're underestimating you, so you'll probably have weak coverage, at least at first. Keep your head down and your broom fast. Feel free to show off your tricks, but don't get hurt. That goes for all of you." Sienna smiled as Carter continued her pre-game pep talk. It was almost amusing how completely unhelpful it was. The only girls on the team who would have responded to it, didn't need it.

Johanna, a lithe German fifth year who was next in line as captain, sat at Carter's right, gripping her Beater's bat tightly, her body trembling in excitement. Sienna could see her darting violet eyes through the ragged curtain of her violet-streaked gold hair.

Next to her sat the other Beater, Zyra, a dark Australian sixth year with a headful of black curls. Her twin brother, Zane, played the same position on the Elysian team. Zyra was staring at Carter but obviously not listening. Her mind was far away, but that was not unusual.

The next three seats were occupied by the Chasers. Hyeki, a shy, petite, Korean fifth year, was sitting next to Zyra, staring at her hands nervously while also not listening to Carter at all. Next to her was Abike, a bubbly Nigerian sixth year. Abike at least was trying to pay attention, but she seemed distracted.

Between Sienna and Carter, Freja sat with her arms crossed and her eyes closed. She was getting ready in her own way, calming her nerves and erasing all extra thoughts and emotions from her mind. When she had finished, Sienna knew, she would be a powerful force to be reckoned with: deadly accuracy and skill untempered by fear or anxiety. Freja was one of the best Keepers Sienna had ever seen play, either in school or in the pros.

"So now, ladies, let's get out there and beat the fire out of those Dragons. They think they can beat us, but let's give them a run for their money. It's time now. Good luck ladies and remember what I've said."

It took a few moments for everyone to realize Carter was done. Once they did, they got to their feet, picked up their brooms, and marched out onto the pitch, the sun glinting off their shining teal and bronze robes.

Sienna took her place on the field across from the purple and gold Olympian team. As Coach White gestured the captains forward to shake hands, Sienna recognized the Olympian captain as Hyeki's older brother Soojae Song. Soojae was a legend, both for his skill with a sword and as a Chaser. Half the school hoped he would become a professional Quidditch player after graduating while the other half hoped he would finally wipe out the remnants of the rogue vampire colony in Tibet. And now, she, Sienna, was about to go head to head with him in her first Quidditch match at Atlantis. She swallowed hard.

"The teams have lined up for the first match of the season. Song, Drenyiv, and Hughes have put together a fearsome Dragon team for their final year at Atlantis. Don't completely count out the Does though. Glass found a rookie transfer and a couple promising fifth years, and you know she and Melker are coming for blood!" Sienna blinked. The voice was eerily familiar. The commentator was a tall, tawny girl who was the spitting image of Latharn.

She shook herself and returned her attention to White. He blew the whistle.

"And they're off!"

White threw the Quaffle directly into the center of the circle of players. Carter had given the Chasers instructions before the game began. Hyeki was to charge her brother to get the Quaffle, while Sienna and Abike spread out. Sienna flew past the Olympian Chasers and spun around to see who'd gotten the Quaffle. There, Abike had caught it when it fell from the squabbling siblings and was now zipping her way. Sienna turned and flew toward the Olympian Keeper, a tall seventh year girl with long braids.

"Sienna!" Abike called, throwing the Quaffle at the same time. Sienna spun around and caught it, having to roll the broomstick over in the air to make up for the Quaffle's descent. Lodging the Quaffle under one arm, Sienna flew faster than ever at the hoops.

As she was closing in, she suddenly had a sick feeling in her stomach. In response to a sudden impulse, Sienna jerked her broomstick upright, just in time to see a Bludger fly beneath her with only an inch to spare. Fighting back the trembling left by the burst of adrenaline, Sienna dove toward the left hoop and threw the Quaffle.

The crowd let out a roar of approval as she scored the first points of the match.

"AMAZONIA SCORES! Fantastic teamwork by the Does and what a welcome for the rookie!"

As she spun around to fly back toward her own side, Sienna saw Carter smile in approval as she streaked across the field after a small blonde girl Sienna knew was the Olympian Seeker.

"Song has taken possession of the Quaffle. He passes to Drenyiv who reverses back to him."

Sienna drew even with Soojae. Just as she reached out to snatch the Quaffle, he threw it over his shoulder and spun toward her, forcing Sienna to swerve. A dark Olympian boy flew between them, holding the Quaffle, which Soojae had passed to him. Sienna hissed as she tried to get her momentum back, but it was too late. Freja almost caught it too, but something distracted her.

Freja screamed.

Sienna spun around. Carter was falling.

Sienna didn't think. She dove, trying desperately to reach the ground before Carter did. Her eyes narrowed as the ground rushed toward her. She wasn't going to make it. Suddenly a blaze of purple flashed across her field of vision.

Sienna jerked her broom, slowing it. Another roar from the crowd, louder this time, resonated within Sienna's skull.

"What a dive! Song catches Amazon captain Glass after a nasty fall. She seems to be unconscious."

Sienna stared in shock as Soojae carefully laid Carter on the stretcher Clannyte had summoned. She spun around and flew to where Johanna was sitting motionless on her broom. "Johanna, switch me to Seeker."

"What?" Johanna asked softly, turning glassy eyes on Sienna.

"I've been practicing playing Seeker, and Carter's been helping me. We don't have a reserve Seeker, but I can play. It'd be better to play down a Chaser than without a Seeker. Please, Johanna."

Johanna nodded slowly. Sienna stared at her. There was something very wrong. "Johanna, it's not your fault."

Johanna spun toward her. "Of course it is. You didn't even see it. _I_ should have gotten that Bludger! I'm a Beater, it's my job. I don't know how I missed it. But I saw it hit her. It caught her hard in the side, hard enough that the pain must have knocked her out. I—"

"Stop it, Johanna!" Sienna yelled over her. "It's not your fault. These things happen. However, if you let this get to you and stop playing, any other injuries will be your fault. You're not the only Beater, nor the only player on this team. We have to keep playing. You're captain until Carter can play again. We just have to hold on. You know Carter won't stay down for long. As soon as she wakes up she'll be back. Either way, we need a Seeker, so will you let me play or not?"

Johanna closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, they had cleared. "Sienna, you're Seeker. Good luck. Hyeki," She called looking around at the players gathered around her. "You and Abike need to fly your best to make up for your missing teammate. Freja, keep your focus. Zyra, you and I need to step up and keep those Bludgers out of the way. Let's do this!"

The younger King's voice echoed across the stands. "The Amazons appear to be ready to resume the game. They've switched the rookie, Sinclair, to Seeker. Bold decision by temporary captain Vogel."

Professor White blew the whistle to resume the game. As Sienna began circling the pitch, it occurred to her just how strange it was. After all those years watching Harry play Seeker, here she was doing the same. She just hoped she'd be able to catch the Snitch.

Sienna was aware of the match being played around her. The Amazons scored once more but the Olympians had gained a forty point lead. Twice, Sienna saw the little Olympian Seeker dive, apparently having caught sight of the Snitch, but both instances passed with neither Seeker holding the struggling golden ball.

"There goes Visser! She's diving again and, yes, I see the Snitch!"

Sienna had seen it too. She knew Visser was better than her, so Sienna took a page out of Cho Chang's play book from her third year: she swerved in front of the girl, distracting her while the Snitch disappeared again. The purple part of the crowd roared angrily, but a shrill whistle carried over them.

"Captain Glass has returned to the pitch and called a time out!"

Sienna grinned as she descended to where her team was grouped beneath the stands, out of sight of the fans. Sure enough, Carter was standing there and seemed more or less healthy, albeit furious. "What the hell! Where were you Johanna? You were supposed to be playing Beater, but you let a Bludger get an inch from taking off Sienna's head and another take me out! What was so important that you couldn't keep your mind on the game?"

The team winced. Johanna looked like she'd just been slapped.

"And _you_ ," Carter continued, turning on Freja. "You were so busy watching me that you couldn't guard the damn hoops! All of you in fact! How is it that you can't even put up a fight without me? Am I the only one on this whole team who cares? What—"

"That's not fair, Carter." Sienna heard the words and it took a moment for her to realize she'd been the one to say them. "You didn't see her after that Bludger hit you, but I did. You didn't see us play down a Chaser and still maintain a decent position. We all care, more than you could possibly know."

The team wasn't looking at her, except for Carter who scowled. Everyone else had their faces lowered and seemed about ready to give up. Sienna steeled her jaw and turned back to Carter.

"You're the captain, win or lose. It is your job to hold your team together, to lead them, and here you are blaming them! Damn it, Carter! You can do better than that. And you," she turned to Johanna now. "You need to keep your head when things go wrong. Even if you'd hit that Bludger into Carter yourself you would have needed to keep your wits about you. If something happens to Carter, you're captain. Next year, you'll be captain in your own right. Doesn't that mean something to you? You're a leader. You have to be!

"Come on ladies, we're strong and we've been practicing our asses off for weeks now. Are you really about to let our Quidditch season end now, in the first match? No one expects us to win, so maybe you've stopped expecting it of yourself. Why play your best when you're going to lose anyway, right?"

Sienna clenched her fists, her eyes prickling now. "We don't have to let them beat us! We're better than that! Amazonia has beaten Olympia before, after all. If we work together and play as well as I've seen us play in practice, then we can beat these Dragons! Now, who's with me?!"

The group was silent for a long moment before Freja, a small smile on her face, straightened up and began clapping. Sienna looked at her, bewildered for a moment, before the rest of the team joined her. Soon even Carter was applauding and cheering. Sienna felt her face heat up with everyone looking at her. She resisted the urge to cover her face and hide, and, although it took all the courage she possessed, instead began walking back to the pitch, her team behind her.

"The Does are back on the field and wow! They barely look like the same team!"

The commentator was right. It was like something had shifted inside them all. Sienna, Abike, and Hyeki were flying in perfect sync; their form as good or better than they'd ever managed in practice. Johanna and Zyra lobbed Bludger after Bludger at the Olympians, keeping them on their toes as they tried to maintain their lead. Freja was in top form, making a slew of exceptional saves. And throughout them all, Carter was weaving her way, out-maneuvering Visser as they both scoured the pitch for a glint of gold.

"That's another score for Sinclair! These Amazon Chasers are on fire!"

Hyeki intercepted Drenyiv's pass as the seventh year tried to get back to Amazon territory. Soojae looked frustrated now as he tried to force a fumble and Sienna nimbly tossed the Quaffle to Abike instead. Hyeki blew her brother a kiss and sped past him toward the goal. Another score for Amazonia and the two teams would be tied.

As though from a great distance Sienna could hear the roar of the crowd rise to a frenzied pitch. She looked down for a moment to see Carter diving, but Sienna had just spotted the Snitch circling the Amazon goal-post. Just before hitting the ground, Carter pulled up and dashed toward the end of the field. Visser crashed into the ground with a resounding thud. Johanna deflected a Bludger that was streaking toward Carter, and the red-head put on a final burst of speed before slowing, her upraised hand holding the struggling Golden Snitch.

"THAT'S THE GAME!" The younger King roared. "AMAZONIA WINS!"

The crowd roared. The Olympians were so rarely upset that every black, sapphire, and bronze robed figure was on their feet. The Amazon team landed heavily on the pitch, crying and laughing together. After pulling off the upset of the century, they had the opportunity to win their first Quidditch cup in a decade.

. . .

Dinner was a noisy affair that night. The Elysians were loudly celebrating with the Amazons over their win, and a string of Trojans who had siblings in the other colleges kept coming over to congratulate the team. Sienna, who had been riding a tide of adrenaline for hours now, was beginning to feel overwhelmed. She wasn't used to this much celebration and she hated being the center of attention. After the commentator, Latharn's sister Ailsa, congratulated her on her flying for the third time, Sienna used a few well-placed charms to escape the crowd and wander back outside.

She breathed the crisp air deeply before walking down to the training arena. There were far too many emotions in her to even consider studying or sleeping, and Sienna had discovered that sword-fighting was even better than flying for working out excess energy. She had only just begun her training when she heard a voice behind her.

"You know, I would have thought you'd be celebrating after a performance like that."

Sienna spun around, alarmed, and heard a clanging noise as Hale parried her wild swing. "You should be more careful. If I hadn't had my sword out you could have hurt me." He raised an eyebrow as Sienna lowered her weapon hastily. "Are you ok?"

"Er, yeah. I guess so." Sienna sputtered. "I'm just a little overwhelmed. I don't like that many people looking at me."

Hale chuckled. "I mean, you did just help Amazonia upset Olympia for the first time in ages. And the way I hear it, you are personally responsible for it. Freja told me about your speech and how you told off Carter. You're the reason we have something to celebrate."

Sienna's face burned as she turned away, trying to hide her discomfort. "Er, if you say so. I wouldn't call it a speech though. Nothing that fancy."

Hale placed one hand on Sienna's shoulder and one on her chin as he turned her back to face him. "Sienna, you just led your team to a great victory. You should be proud, not embarrassed. You kept the team in the game when you played Seeker, then you inspired the team to win. You were amazing today."

He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. Sienna hadn't believed her face could grow hotter, but it did. Hale's mouth quirked into a smirk as he released her. "Now, if you want to get in some sparring we can, but then we're going to go celebrate. If you don't want to join the big party, that's fine. I happen to know that the house elves in the kitchen keep a small stash of butterbeer for special occasions. Let's each get one and then go sit in that corner of the courtyard that you like so much and not move until we absolutely must get to bed. I have exploding snap and wizard's chess if you want to play."

Sienna laughed, before wrinkling her brow. "How did you know about the corner of the courtyard?"

Hale smirked at her. "I know almost everything, and I certainly know where you spend your time. If I didn't, how would I know where to find you when you need me?"

Sienna stared at him in shock, feeling the blush return to her face. He smiled again before moving into sparring position. She blinked at him for a moment before following. They shared a smile before moving forward, their swords blurring as they fought.


	8. Dance Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must confess, I think this is my favorite chapter of the story. I hope you enjoy it too!

Autumn arrived at the school in a sudden blaze of red-gold brilliance. The leaves of all the trees in the sunken vale of Atlantis changed into a dazzling rainbow of hues, heralding the coming of Halloween.

It took the school several days before it settled down from the Quidditch match, and the Amazons continued to be in high spirits for weeks. They were currently the favorites to win the cup, and the Elysians were their primary obstacle. Since they didn't have another match until after the Christmas holidays, Carter let the team relax for a whole week before doubling down on practices.

The best part of the weeks following the win, at least to Sienna, was the evolution in her relationship with Hale. It had become a common rumor among the Amazons and Elysians that the two were together, although that wasn't quite true. Sienna had known for weeks that Hale was her best friend, but she was starting to wonder if he might be something more. Whenever someone confronted them about the rumors, Sienna would watch as Hale laughed and set the record straight. Every time, she felt herself deflate a little, disconcerted by the ease with which he denied the charges, even as she felt she wanted them to be true.

She did her best to shelve such thoughts throughout October, but on the morning of Halloween, Sienna woke early with a pang in her chest while a dream of the spy, Hale, and Harry faded from her mind. She couldn't remember the dream, but she was torn between guilt at not having spoken to Harry in almost two weeks and relief that she hadn't thought about him in that long.

Sienna shook off the thoughts and began to get ready for the day. Of course, this evening would be the Halloween feast, but today was also Hale's birthday. Sienna bit her lip, thinking hard. What on earth should she get him? What did he like? What did he need? As Sienna considered, it occurred to her that she really had no idea what he would want. He didn't seem to have many personal possessions and he didn't talk much about his likes or dislikes.

Still pondering, she began to make her way toward the library to get a bit of work done. Just as she passed through the entrance hall, Sienna felt a small buzzing at her wrist. Smiling, she turned quickly and made her way outside instead. She could ask Harry's advice. Six months ago, it would never have occurred to Sienna to ask Harry's advice about what to give a boy for a gift. She wouldn't have had the guts to talk about that with the boy she'd fancied for so long. But now, Sienna wasn't even sure if she did fancy Harry. Instead, she was simply asking one of her best friends for advice on what to get her other best friend.

"Hi Harry," Sienna said happily, sitting down in her usual little cave.

"Happy Halloween, Sienna," Harry said laughing. "Do you guys celebrate Halloween at Atlantis?"

"Of course we do," Sienna replied, also laughing. "We'll have a feast tonight, probably featuring pumpkin dishes from the world over. Actually, I had a question for you. Hale's birthday is today, and I don't know what to get him."

Harry looked at her, stunned, for a moment. Then slowly, he began to grin. "Since when do you ask me for help with that kind of thing? Isn't that something you would talk to Hermione about or that Lynne girl?"

Sienna smiled grudgingly, "Well, I can't really ask Hermione since I'm not allowed outside contact and you aren't sharing your mirror. As for Lynne, she would give me the hardest time if I asked about that. Plus, she would definitely redouble her matchmaking efforts."

Harry's smile grew broader. "Matchmaking? Sienna, you're not going to come home this summer with a boyfriend, are you?"

"Stop being stupid, Harry. Shut up," Sienna said quickly, feeling her face heat up slightly.

Harry just shrugged, smirking, before beginning to help Sienna brainstorm. It was very difficult to get anywhere. Sienna knew Hale wanted to go into politics, felt sorry for polecats, and had been raised by his mom, but that was about all. He was so sweet and not shy at all, but he never seemed to say much about himself.

After batting ideas back and forth for a while, Harry sighed. "Okay, Sienna, what did he get you for your birthday? Maybe that will give you an idea."

Hale's words echoed in Sienna's mind. _"I decided to be selfish. I really only cared that you remember me."_ Sienna gave a small smile. "That's a good idea, Harry. I think I know what to get him. Thanks for the help."

Harry shrugged. "I'm glad I could help. Oh, are you coming home for the Christmas holidays?"

"Er, no one at Atlantis goes home for any of the holidays. It's a school tradition that everyone stays every year and we all celebrate the holidays together. I don't think the train even runs during the school year. Sorry, Harry," Sienna replied apologetically.

"Oh, alright," Harry said, sounding disappointed. "Well, I suppose that's better. Who knows where exactly we'll be over Christmas. Anyways, I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah. Bye, Harry." Sienna sighed as she looked at the empty mirror. As much as she wanted to see Harry and her other friends from Hogwarts, Sienna couldn't lie to herself—she'd much rather stay here with her new friends over the break. It was painful talking to Harry knowing that, even if she could go back, she wouldn't.

Sienna shook herself from her stupor. She needed to get Hale's present ready. One of the difficulties with being unable to contact the outside world was that Sienna would have to prepare Hale's present herself. Luckily, she was a witch.

After almost half an hour of spell-work, Sienna had the gift ready and wrapped. She tucked the small box into a pocket of her robes and left her cave, hoping to have time for a quick bite of breakfast before classes.

Outside the dining hall, Sienna ran into Carter. "Are you just now getting to breakfast, too?" Carter said in surprise. "Am I early or are you late?"

Sienna laughed. "I'm late, but don't worry about it. Let's see how much toast we can eat before potions."

Carter gave a loud bark of laughter and the two walked toward their table.

" _Mes amies_ , where were you? You have five minutes to eat, if even that!" Lynne said worriedly from where she sat curled against Lucero's side.

Sienna just shrugged and began eating as Carter and Ash began their usual morning banter. She felt like she'd only taken a few bites when Hale was hoisting her from her seat and dragging her towards potions.

"Seriously, Hale, you couldn't even have let me grab a piece of bacon on my way out?" Sienna grumbled.

"What, you think I was going to make you go hungry?" He asked, rolling his eyes, as he set a small napkin in her hands, filled with toast, bacon, and sausage.

Sienna's felt her spirits soar. "You're the best!"

Hale nodded knowingly. "I can't deny it."

Sienna punched his arm lightly in retaliation.

"Hey, it's my birthday, you can't hit me," Hale said in mock exasperation. Sienna raised an eyebrow skeptically, and Hale laughed. "In all seriousness though, I most certainly am the best and neither of us ought to forget it."

Sienna groaned. "Whatever. Speaking of your birthday, though, are we doing another picnic?"

Hale shook his head. "I'm not really one for picnics and, since my birthday is on Halloween, we have the feast tonight. Usually for my birthday we all go out and have a four-on-four Quidditch match, though this year we can do five-on-five."

Sienna was puzzled. "Five-on-five? But Lynne, Kiki, and Sil don't play Quidditch."

Hale smirked. "You'd be surprised. Lynne is a pretty good Chaser, and Kiki's downright frightening as a Beater. Sil's the worst of the three, but he's not a bad Chaser. It'll be a pretty even match this year. We'll play short a Beater and Chaser on each team to get down to five."

Sienna nodded and smiled. "Sounds fun." Then she stopped, frowning. "So you won't get a cake or presents or anything?"

Hale gave her hand a slight pull to keep her walking before he answered. "I never really grew up celebrating my birthday so I don't like making a big deal of it. Usually I'll end up with one or two presents, but, again, we have the feast tonight, so I don't need a cake or anything like that."

There it was again, a fleeting look of sadness in Hale's eyes as he made a brief allusion to his childhood. Sienna had become quite curious about Hale's past, but he obviously didn't want to talk about it. She hoped that he'd eventually feel comfortable enough with her to share.

Although Sienna had planned to go ahead and give Hale his present that morning, they had just walked into Potions. The class had been working on advanced healing potions ever since they'd finished brewing the Polyjuice potion. Now, they were almost done working on the Wolfsbane potion. It was an incredibly difficult one, and it took all of Sienna's concentration to make it correctly. Luckily, if she found herself getting lost, Hale and Ash were always happy to help her out.

When Professor Rinne called time, Sienna gratefully began packing her bag. The complex potions were exhausting, especially since it was crucial to execute them correctly, lest they do more harm than good.

As everyone walked out of the classroom, Sienna pulled Hale aside. "I didn't have time before class, but I wanted to give you your birthday present." Smiling, she set the small wrapped box in his hands.

Hale looked at it in surprise before carefully unwrapping it. Inside was a small falcon pendant on a leather cord.

"I had a terrible time trying to decide what to give you. I figured that, since you'd given me the polecat charm, I would give you a falcon one, so you'll be sure to remember me, too."

Hale smiled and pulled Sienna into a hug. "Thank you," he said softly. "But you know, even without the charm I couldn't have ever forgotten you."

Sienna looked up at him with wide eyes, but he just smiled calmly down at her. "Come on, it's lunch time," Hale said suddenly, walking away. Sienna bit her lip, trying to calm the weird tempest of feelings inside of her, before hurrying to catch up with him.

Sienna found it very difficult to concentrate on her classes that afternoon, because every time she looked over at Hale she felt the strength of his arms around her and his quiet words in her ear. As soon as Ancient Runes ended, Sienna hurried to change for the mock Quidditch match. It would hopefully keep her distracted enough to at least prevent her from staring.

When Sienna descended the stairs to her dormitory, she found the rest of the girls already dressing. Once all were ready, they made their way out to the pitch. The two teams of five faced each other, ready for a rather competitive friendly Quidditch match.

An hour later found all ten friends lying on the ground laughing. Kiki had hit a Bludger at Sil who, attempting to dodge, had careened into Sienna, knocking them both off their brooms. Lynne had panicked and tried to ease their fall with a spell, but in her haste had created a rather large pit of pink foam. It succeeded in cushioning their fall, but with the added result of covering both from head to toe in a cloudy pink suit. Carter had almost fallen off her broom laughing until Ash flew by and rubbed a handful of the foam into her face, beginning an all-out foam war. Now here they all were, tired, coated in pink, and still shaking with laughter.

" _Mes amis_ ," Lynne choked through her giggles. "We need to get cleaned up for the feast. We'll be late if we do not leave now."

Sienna pushed herself up, groaning from the stitches that had supplanted her laughter. "Ugh, fine. Let's go." She said as she began walking toward the palace. Several voices echoed her complaint, and Sienna heard the rest of the group following her up the emerald slopes.

When Sienna entered the dining hall fifteen minutes later, she found herself frozen in wonder. The hall was festooned in shimmering ebony and deep harvest gold. Brilliant candles shone from the depths of pumpkins floating around the room. Little white skulls decorated with bright colors were strewn among the dishes on the tables. And, above it all, miniature stone gargoyles flew around the room, dropping candies onto the students' heads.

"Don't block the doorway," Ash said laughing as he pushed past her. His orange and black mottled hair bobbed toward the table like another decoration for the hall. Sienna barely contained her laughter as she followed him to their seats.

The food, like the décor, was amazing. Sienna saw the variety of pumpkin dishes she had expected as well as an odd assortment of potato foods which, as Ash informed her, smirking, were traditional Celtic Halloween foods.

The feast passed quickly, as meals filled with such excellent food often do. Soon, Sienna was full and rather tired. Just as she was about to rise and return to the common room, Professor Fontayre stood, stilling the hall.

"As you probably all know, we have one last important Halloween tradition before I can let you all go to bed. Tonight, as we begin looking ahead to winter, I'd like to remind you all of the Yule Ball on Christmas Day. For those of you who will be attending for the first time this year, I will quickly go over a few things you need to know. First, like always, the ball is for fourth through seventh years, though third years may attend if they are invited. Next, special classes are available for those who need help preparing their own dress robes, learning to dance, etc. The schedules for these classes can be found on the notice boards in your common rooms. Lastly, as you've all been waiting for, the college that is hosting this year is Olympia. I trust you will all have a wonderful time anticipating the dance. Now, you may go to bed. Sleep well, my dears."

Sienna found herself swept along by the tide of people returning to their dormitories. A Yule Ball? She distinctly remembered the year that Hogwarts held a Yule Ball, but that had been a Triwizard Tournament tradition. Why were they having one here? When Sienna and her classmates at last found themselves back in their dormitory, she voiced her questions.

"Although the Yule Ball is a Triwizard Tournament tradition," Freja answered matter-of-factly. "It has been a tradition here at Atlantis far longer. An Atlantis graduate, an Olympian to be specific, was a part of the group that first instituted the Triwizard Tournament, and she insisted on adopting the Yule Ball as part of the event."

"The way it works at Atlantis," Lynne supplied helpfully. "Is that the colleges take turns hosting the event. The host college plans the ball, decorates, coordinates the music and the food, and begins the dancing. There can be a bit of rivalry among the colleges when it comes to the ball, especially between Olympia and Amazonia. Though, to be honest," Lynne paused thoughtfully. "I suppose this year Olympia is the best to be hosting. After all, they have the Drenyiv twins co-presiding over the preparations, and goodness knows those two will throw a party like none other for their last year here."

"Do people usually take a date?" Sienna asked, trying hard to sound unconcerned.

Carter smirked. "Usually, but not always. Why? You got someone special in mind? I'm sorry, but I already promised Fox I'd go with him. Maybe Freja will take you."

The group laughed, as Sienna slung a pillow at Carter. The gleam in Carter's eye made it clear to Sienna that her friend knew exactly who Sienna had in mind for a date, despite her jab.

A sudden thought made Sienna frown. "Er, the Headmistress mentioned dance classes. We don't really need to know how to dance for the Yule Ball, do we?"

"Of course," Lynne replied, bubbly as always. "There are basic waltzes as well as several more complex dances. If you don't know how to dance, you can take the classes. However, I'd recommend you just ask one of the boys. It just so happens that the Elysians in our year are all accomplished dancers. Any of them could teach you easily enough."

Sienna nodded slowly, processing that bit of information. What was she supposed to do, walk up to Ash or even Hale and ask him to teach her to dance? She shook her head, trying to dispel the humiliating image.

"By the way, Sienna," Freja said suddenly. "Since you weren't expecting the ball, you probably didn't bring dress robes. You can't order anything from here, but the school has a stash of fabric, patterns, and other basic supplies for students who aren't comfortable conjuring them from nothing. You shouldn't have any trouble coming up with an outfit, but the first go round it always takes a bit of time."

Sienna nodded. Although it hadn't occurred to her that she didn't have a dress with her other than the one from the wedding, it made sense that she would have to conjure it herself if she wanted a new one. After all, that's what she had had to do for Hale's present.

Images of dresses and dances buzzed about in Sienna's skull through the rest of the night and on into her dreams. It wasn't until the small hours of the night that Sienna, exhausted, finally managed to throw off her thoughts and escape into the calm repose of sleep.

"Hey, Sienna, are you coming to History of Magic or not?"

Sienna jumped and spun around, heart pounding, to face Hale. This had been a running theme of the past three days, ever since Sienna had found out about the Yule Ball. Every time Hale spoke to her, she was spooked. Sienna calmed her racing heart as best she could before following him into the entrance hall.

"You know, you've seemed a bit odd lately. Are you feeling alright?" Hale asked glancing over at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit homesick I suppose." It was a bad lie and Sienna knew it, but it was all she could come up with on the spot.

"Ah," Hale said slowly. "You aren't nervous about the ball or anything like that?"

Sienna could feel the heat rising to her face. "Of course not. Why would I be nervous about that?"

Hale shrugged, smirking. "Beats me, I just thought I'd ask."

They walked on in silence for a bit longer. Sienna knew she'd eventually have to ask for help learning the dances, but she couldn't bear the thought of actually admitting to Hale that she needed his help.

"You know, as cute as it is to let you go on making a fool of yourself, it's getting a bit pathetic. You might consider just asking for help learning to dance you know."

Sienna spun around to face Hale's ever broader smirk. "How on earth did you know about that?"

"It makes sense, doesn't it? It's your first year here and we all had to learn years ago. Why on earth would you know all of our formal dances?"

Sienna was irritated, but also a bit relieved that Hale wasn't making fun of her. She supposed that it really did make sense that she needed help with the dancing. She exhaled slowly. "Hale, would you help me learn to dance for the ball?"

"Nope." Hale grinned. "You asked me, not Ash, so I won the bet which makes him your teacher. We knew you'd need help, so we decided to place wagers on who you'd ask. I was right. Have fun with dance lessons!"

Sienna flushed as she watched Hale turn and walk towards History of Magic.

When she finally arrived at the classroom, Sienna had managed to regain a semblance of calm. Eschewing her customary seat next to Hale, Sienna chose a seat on the other side of the room next to Sil.

"Lovers' spat?" Ash asked gaily, sitting down on Sienna's other side.

"Shut up, Ash."

"Ooh, no smile. Yikes." Ash shuddered dramatically. "Must have been a bad one. It's those charismatic gentlemen—you can't trust them. You would have been much better off with someone more honest about his feelings. Like Sil." Sil looked over at Ash and rolled his eyes before returning to his Herbology diagrams.

"I already told you to shut up. Is there a way I can make it clearer for you?" Sienna asked, breathing slowly to try to keep from hitting Ash.

"He already told me I won. So if that's what you're so wound up about, you don't need to be."

Sienna scowled. "Why did you even make a stupid bet like that?"

"Question, your royal bitterness: are you mad because we knew you'd need help or because Hale chose to make me help you instead of doing it himself?"

Sienna glared at Ash. Inside, she was weighing his words. Why was she mad? As much as she hated being played, especially when her weaknesses were the object of the game, Sienna realized that her irritation was quite independent of the reality of the wager. Ash had nailed her with his second guess. "Why did you two choose that the loser of the bet had to teach me to dance?"

Ash glanced over at her and shrugged. "He and I both knew you'd ask him, but I thought teaching you to dance sounded fun, so I bet on the losing side. I don't know why he didn't want to teach you."

Sienna's brow furrowed, but, before she could respond, Professor Drenyiv began the lesson. The class was closing out the term with a discussion on the undulating attitudes toward wizardry in the Middle East before moving further east into Asia after the holidays.

After an hour and a half of discussing the various Muggle religions in the region and their attitudes toward magic over time (most were against magic unless the wizard called himself a "prophet" and professed faith in their god) the bell finally rang and Sienna stretched her cramped hand. "So, are you willing to admit now that you just wanted the opportunity to dance with Hale?" Ash looked over at her with eyes that were brilliant blue today.

"Ash, I have nothing to admit. I don't like being played. Now, will you leave me alone or should I go ask King to teach me to dance?" Sienna held Ash's eyes until he finally sighed and looked away.

"Fine." He breathed, rolling his eyes. "Just know, Hale can be petty and enjoys playing with people. Don't get your hopes up for some cute invitation. It's more likely he'll wait to see if you swallow your pride and ask him yourself."

Sienna gaped at him. "I'm not just waiting for him to ask me. I have other things on my mind. I don't care about having a date. It's not like he's the only one I could go with either, I mean—" She realized she was rambling and tripping over her words, so Sienna quickly shut her mouth.

Ash laughed and waved her objections to the side. "Sure. Whatever you say. Now, you ready to start dance lessons tonight?"

Sienna glared at him, then sighed. "I suppose I might as well get this over with. Yeah, let's start tonight."

Nodding, Ash turned and walked off, leaving Sienna to walk alone to Political Science. She wasn't looking forward to facing Hale again, but knew she'd have to eventually. Sure enough, he was waiting next to her empty seat when she arrived.

"So, you and Ash have plans to start lessons?"

"What does it matter to you?" Sienna snapped back, still annoyed.

"Woah, feisty today, aren't you?" Hale laughed quietly. "Wouldn't you prefer that I not see you fumble around trying to dance? At least this way you can make a fool of yourself in front of Ash. And he makes a fool of himself weekly, so he won't actually have anything on you."

Sienna flushed. "You assume I'll make a fool of myself?"

Hale was laughing harder now. "Of course. Everyone does. No one can naturally dance."

Sienna bit her lip. She knew he was right. She would make a fool of herself. She was terrible at dancing. At the same time, she'd never really tried and certainly hadn't been taught, so perhaps if she just put a bit of effort into it, she'd be able to impress him.

"Fine," she said suddenly. "You needn't teach me. I'm sure Ash will be an excellent teacher. But watch out. You might end up regretting giving up the opportunity."

Hale raised an eyebrow, and Sienna was sure he was about to call her bluff. "Who said anything about giving up? I'm just biding my time."

Sienna shivered slightly. Hale's voice had become very low and serious and his eyes were piercing. She wasn't sure what she'd gotten herself into, but with the rate her heart was throbbing, she knew it was too late to escape now.

. . .

After a month of dance lessons, Sienna considered herself mostly prepared for the upcoming ball. As suspected, the first few lessons had been downright embarrassing, but Ash was an excellent teacher. They could now go through entire complicated dances without Sienna accidentally crushing his feet.

On the other hand, securing a date had continued to evade her. After the incident with the bet, Sienna had been even more on edge around Hale. Now that a few weeks had passed, the awkwardness had given way to an uneasy courtesy. It wasn't nearly as comfortable as their companionship had been before his birthday. Even worse, her heartbeat went wild whenever the topic of the ball came up around him.

It was two weeks before the holidays began and Sienna was walking back from Quidditch practice thinking, once again, that perhaps she should swallow her pride and ask Hale to the ball. This had been a common internal argument over the past month. She knew Ash was right, and Hale was waiting to see if she'd ask, but Sienna was stubborn also and didn't want to give him the satisfaction. At the same time, she didn't particularly want to go alone, especially after the effort she'd put into dancing and planning her dress.

As she turned the corner and began walking along the corridor to the common room, Sienna heard Hale's voice from the courtyard. She slowed her pace, debating whether or not to call out to him, when another voice joined his: Kiki. Sienna froze, straining to hear the conversation.

"Hale, please. I know you only took Carter last year because she and King were fighting. You said that's why you didn't take me again. I don't want to go alone for my last year."

"Then ask Sil. He doesn't have a date yet. Or how about Ash? You know he and Freja never actually make plans until the last minute."

"Freja wanted to make plans early this year, so Ash is already spoken for. It doesn't matter though. I don't _want_ to go with either of them. I want to go with _you_. God, Hale, you know how I feel about you. Don't make me beg."

"Tsukiko—"

" _Don't_ call me that."

"Kiki, please." The voices were quieter now. It sounded like they were walking out the other side of the courtyard.

Sienna stayed frozen for several minutes after the voices were completely out of her hearing. That had certainly been Kiki, but Sienna wasn't sure she'd ever heard the stony Japanese girl say so many words at one time, certainly never so many emotional ones. Though, Sienna realized suddenly, this did explain why Kiki had always seemed to dislike her. Kiki had likely been jealous that Sienna was spending so much time with Hale.

Sienna slowly made her way into the common room and down into her dormitory, still thinking over the conversation. Why didn't Hale want to go with Kiki? Could he possibly be waiting to see if Sienna would ask him? It made sense, but she was still nervous. What if Kiki had convinced him after all? Sienna honestly hadn't considered the possibility of Hale finding another date. She'd assumed he would also go alone if she never asked him.

Sienna couldn't believe she'd been so naïve. Hale was handsome, athletic, and brilliant. There were likely any number of girls in the school who would be thrilled to have Hale be their date to the ball. And she, Sienna, had probably already lost her chance to go with him.

"Well," she said softly, steeling herself. "It's not too late to try. And I could always ask Sil if I need to. He might be willing to go with me." With that resolute, if not happy, thought, Sienna began her homework while trying to determine how best to go about talking to Hale.

After almost an hour of struggling to make progress on her essay on partial human Transfiguration, Sienna looked up to see Lynne entering the room. An idea began to form in her mind, and she debated for only a moment before walking over to Lynne. "Can I talk to you? I need your help."

Lynne took a glance at Sienna's pleading face before smiling and leading her out to the garden. A couple quick spells insured they wouldn't be overheard. "Come now, Sienna, what's troubling you?"

"Er," Sienna started, beginning to regret asking for help now that she had to reveal her problem. "I want to go to the Yule Ball with Hale but I think we're both waiting for the other to ask."

Lynne squealed in delight before Sienna raised a hand to stop her. "Also, I overheard Kiki asking him on my way back from practice."

Lynne gasped. "Oh Sienna. I'm so sorry. I mean, we all knew how Kiki felt but we were all so sure that Hale fancied you now. We'll have to find you someone else to go with. I think Sil is the only seventh year Elysian without a date. He doesn't usually go but maybe if you ask him? I think Soojae Song, the Olympian Quidditch captain, might be interested in you but it's so close to the ball that he definitely would have a date already. Maybe Zyra's twin, Zane?"

Sienna blinked at the idea that Soojae could possibly be interested in her but then shook her head and raised a hand to pause Lynne's tirade. "I didn't hear the end of the conversation but I think Hale turned her down."

Lynne gaped before her mouth spread into a smile. "Oooh! _C'est magnifique_! Now we just have to get you two together!"

Sienna smiled. "Well, first I was hoping you could help me snoop around and find out for sure that they're not going together. Once I know Hale turned her down, I'll swallow my pride and ask him. That should make him happy." Sienna finished with a grumble.

Lynne giggled and agreed to help, before slipping out of the dormitory. Gently moving Funky from her nap on top of the half-finished Transfiguration essay, Sienna was glad she'd asked for the assistance. Now she just had to figure out her plan to ask Hale, assuming he didn't have a date yet, as well as make a backup plan in case she needed to ask Sil.

. . .

The next day in Charms class, Lynne slipped a note to Sienna.

_I spoke to Kiki. Hale won't agree to go with her. Good luck._

Sienna nodded at Lynne, hoping her gratitude was evident in her smile. Now, she thought grimly, she just had to ask the boy she fancied to the ball after he'd already turned down her classmate. Easy.

When Sienna began the walk down to the arena for her next class, she was keeping her eyes peeled for Hale. Since they were the only two in this class, it would be the perfect opportunity to ask him. She caught sight of him a little ways ahead of her, in the entrance hall where he stood talking to Ash. Sienna caught Ash's eye over Hale's shoulder and the blonde (today) smiled at her. He made a quick excuse and walked away from Hale and past her, whispering "Good luck" as he passed.

Hale looked at her, his eyebrow raised before he turned to walk out the doors. Sienna took a deep breath and hurried after him. "Hale! Slow down, I want to talk to you!"

He turned, his face inscrutable. She slowed down once she drew abreast of him, and they began walking together. "Hale, look, I'm sorry I got mad about your bet with Ash. I felt like you were playing with me. But I miss hanging out with you. Please can we go back to normal?"

Hale smiled at her and gently squeezed her shoulder. "Sure. Sounds good to me. I'm sorry I upset you. That wasn't my intention."

Sienna took another breath before she could lose her nerve. "Also, I was wondering if you would go to the ball with me."

Hale laughed. "It's about damn time. What made you decide to finally ask? I was starting to think we'd both be going stag."

Sienna glowered at him. "Hey, you have to answer my question before I answer any of yours."

Hale chuckled again. "Of course I'll go with you. It would be my pleasure. But really, why now?"

Sienna frowned, debating whether to tell him. "I… well… I overheard Kiki ask you yesterday. I hadn't even thought that you might end up going with someone else if I didn't ask you. I didn't want to miss my chance just because I was too proud to ask."

Hale stopped and pulled her into a hug. His voice was quiet when he spoke. "I wasn't going to go with anyone else, no matter who asked me. If you hadn't brought it up this week I would have asked you."

Sienna was very concerned he could feel her heart going wild in her chest after his confession. _"I wasn't going to go with anyone else."_ When Hale pulled away and continued walking to the arena, Sienna was grinning widely where she stood.

"Come on or you'll be late," he called back without looking at her. She shook herself and hurried after him, relief making her head light. Now all she had to do for the Yule Ball was finish her dress, and that was just magic.


	9. Chapter 9: Another Ball

Christmas was a glorious affair at Atlantis. On the morning of Christmas Day, Sienna awoke to find the grounds covered in snow. Seeing as they were at the bottom of the ocean, Sienna was quite sure the snow had arrived by magical means. However, it was no less pretty for being unnatural. The white marble of the palaces matched the glittering snow, making the whole basin glow white in stark contrast to the dark stone of the surrounding cliffs. The effect was of looking at a black and white photograph of the school.

Inside the main palace, the holiday spirit was no less magical. Green and red bubble lights were interspersed with the normal white ones, giving a cheery, colorful glow to the halls. Pine boughs were placed above every doorway, often with holly branches and pine cones stuck throughout. The entrance hall and the dining hall were even more spectacular. There were giant fir trees decorated with tinsel and red candles, brilliant red and gold lanterns hanging in the rafters along with glittering icicles, and white candles set in pine and holly wreathes up and down the tables. Gold, silver, and crystal adorned every surface, making the hall sparkle and glow in the light of the candles and lanterns.

With classes on hold for the holidays, the students took to the grounds where several snow ball fights were occurring simultaneously. The Trojans took advantage of their dormitory to hurl enchanted snowballs from the windows at whoever passed.

The Amazons and Elysians chose to keep their distance from the Trojan fortress and instead gathered at the banks of the lake underneath the waterfall that Sienna knew so well. After a rather short snowball fight (Latharn kept using magic to make the snowballs explode like water balloons on contact), the friends settled into the snow around a little campfire. Although Freja and Sil both brought homework, the others were content to leave all work until after the ball. Sienna pulled out her most recent novel while her friends began discussing their upcoming graduation.

"Carter, any thoughts on what team you're hoping to join when you graduate? Planning on staying in the American Quidditch Federation?" Lucero looked over at her from where he sat playing gobstones with Latharn.

"I'm not sure honestly. I'm thinking about moving to the UK. That way Fox can stay near his home. I can always go visit my folks and they have plenty of kids. Only bummer would be not seeing my big brother's football career."

Sienna looked up at Carter startled. "Your brother plays Muggle football?"

"Yeah, not all of us inherited enough magic for it to be worth going to a wizarding school. My brother decided he'd be better off in the Muggle world and got a full scholarship to play football back in the US. Oh, he plays American football though, not soccer," she added as an afterthought.

Sienna nodded. She turned to look at Latharn. "King, are you going to play pro too?"

"That's the plan!" He grinned. "Goal is to someday make the national team for Scotland. We get blown out of the water every year and I'd like to think a few well-placed Bludgers could help with that."

Sienna laughed. "Yeah, England doesn't do so hot either most years. I was rooting for Ireland at the last World Cup in England. Not as good as having England win, but better than letting Bulgaria take home the Cup."

"Wait, did you get to go?" Carter's eyes were wide.

"Yeah, my dad got tickets through the Ministry. We had to camp for a full week before the event though."

There were whistles throughout the group. "I got to go," Latharn said thoughtfully. "But it was just my eldest brother and I and we didn't know a soul. Too bad you and I hadn't known each other then. It would have been more fun with a friend."

"Most of my friends didn't arrive until the day of the match. It was just me and my sisters for most of the week."

"I wanted to go." Carter shook her head, eyes glazed like she was looking far beyond them. "I begged my parents but they knew that if one of us went we'd all have to and the family didn't have that kind of money. I was devastated I missed it. Krum's Wronski Feint was all over the news."

"It was pretty great. Krum's actually not a bad guy. I got to meet him at the Triwizard Tournament that year." Sienna smiled as she recalled the long hours working with Hermione in the library and Krum's ever present fan club. It took her a moment to realize everyone was staring at her. "He was the Durmstrang champion. One of my best friends went to the Yule Ball with him. I got an autograph."

There was a sudden clamor to see said autograph so the group began making their way back to the palace. It was getting late in the afternoon and the Amazons at least needed to start getting ready for the ball. The group paused at Diana's vase to wait while Sienna retrieved her little box of keepsakes. She passed around the autograph and also a picture of her sisters. Soon the Elysians left to enjoy another couple hours of freedom while the Amazons descended to their dormitory to begin getting ready.

Three hours and much pinning, curling, and painting later, all five were dressed to the nines and headed back to the entrance hall to meet their dates. Sienna caught a glimpse of herself in a window as they walked and had to smile. For once she didn't feel overshadowed by her classmates. Her carefully crafted dress was a stormy blue with a long floaty skirt and sparkling crystals on the fitted bodice. Topaz gems formed a sunburst on the front and glittered like rays of sunlight through clouds. More of the gauzy fabric attached to her shoulders and ran down the back of the dress before connecting to the golden bracelets at her wrists creating the effect of gossamer wings folded behind her.

As they approached the entrance hall, the small group began to look out for their dates. They spotted Lucero first. His deep purple robes looked lovely next to Lynne's gauzy pink ball gown. The girls backed away quickly as the two began snogging in the middle of the hall.

Ash was the next to appear. He had opted for black hair and dark eyes tonight to match black satin robes with stars embroidered in golden thread. He greeted all the girls before holding his hand out to Freja. She looked like his princess in an elegant golden dress that hugged her curves beautifully.

Carter, her edgy two-piece green dress an anomaly in the hall, and Kiki, clad in black lace with long velvet skirts, soon moved away from Sienna as well. Sil in green and Latharn in shimmering bronze had just exited a nearby hall.

Sienna was starting to grow nervous. The doors would be opening any moment and Hale had yet to arrive. She watched the Olympians line up to lead the way into the hall—Soojae with one of the Drenyiv twins were at the front of the group. As the doors opened and the group began to filter in, Sienna felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You look beautiful."

She turned to find Hale in midnight blue robes standing behind her, his eyes taking her in from the top of her carefully constructed updo to the gold heels she wasn't looking forward to dancing in. "Er, thanks. You look great too." She blushed, unnerved by his gaze.

Hale smiled at her warmly and held out his arm. Together they followed their peers into the main hall. It looked nothing like that morning. Every wall, column, and flagstone was plated in glass or gold. Sienna knew instinctively that it was inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Small lamps hung from the ceiling, giving off sweet perfume and casting a dancing light over the mirrors that lined the walls. On the ceiling were more mirrors as well as beautiful paintings of what appeared to be Atlantis at the height of its empire.

Sienna was grateful that Hale still had her arm because she wasn't paying attention to where she was going in the slightest. It was only when he pulled out a chair for her that she realized they'd made their way to a table. Small round tables seating six were scattered throughout the hall instead of the customary long college tables.

"If you don't close your mouth you might catch flies. I assure you the banquet will be worth saving room in your stomach."

Sienna snapped her mouth shut and turned to where Ash was sitting, grinning at her. "As much as I appreciate your concern, you can shove off now." She rolled her eyes dramatically and turned to look at the nearby tables.

Hale had seated them at a table with Ash and Freja. Kiki had resolutely taken a seat a few tables over but Sil kept pointing at the empty chairs next to Ash, clearly wanting to move. Before he could convince Kiki, Lynne and Lucero had taken the vacant seats. Sienna looked over and saw that Carter, Latharn, Hyeki, and a young man that she thought she recognized from the Elysian Quidditch team had joined Kiki and Sil.

Throughout the hall, most of the students and teachers were now seated. Finally the Drenyiv twins, who were seated near the middle of the room, stood and silence fell over the hall.

"Welcome to the 1997 Atlantis School of Sorcery annual Yule Ball!" The taller of the two spoke first. Sienna recognized her from the Olympian Quidditch team. She was a Chaser.

"The theme of tonight is 'Dreams of Paris'." The shorter, blonde girl had a clear ringing voice that reminded Sienna of Lynne's or Lady Diana's. "We will be beginning the feast with an appetizer of _moules marinière_ before a main course of roasted swan and winter squash julienne. Dessert will be a chocolate and coffee opera cake."

"Our entertainment for this evening," continued the Chaser—Sienna thought her name was Tatiana. "Will be the fabulous string quartet _Chansons d'une Boussole_ during dinner followed by the Hex Girls who just finished their first world tour."

"Please enjoy!" The two said in unison and sat. The next instant, Sienna's plate was full of steaming mussels as the hall broke into conversation. She wasn't sure how to approach the dish as the mussels were served in their shells, but a quick glance at Ash told her to use the small two pronged fork to remove the meat without breaking open the shells. They were delicious.

"I take it you like it?" Hale chuckled quietly as Sienna made quick work of her appetizer. She looked over at him, ready to snap at him for laughing at her, but his expression was warm and almost doting as he watched her. Despite her irritation, she found herself smiling.

"Yeah, it's amazing. It's pretty different from English food, but I'm certainly not complaining."

" _Oui_ ," Lynne laughed from her seat on Sienna's other side. "French food is known the world over. Though, I admit, this is exceptionally well prepared. I told you the Drenyiv twins would host a spectacle."

"I can't believe they got the Hex Girls," Ash added, his eyes dancing. "They're this up-and-coming American girl group. They're fabulous. Not to mention super attractive. Thorn, the lead singer, is considered one of the most eligible witches in North America. I wonder if they'd be willing to take a song or two off and dance…"

Freja elbowed him gently in the ribs, but she was smiling at him. Sienna laughed and returned to her food. The swan, which Sienna had never tried before, was delicious and, after taking a single bite of the opera cake, she was sure she must have moaned because Hale chuckled and slid half of his own cake onto her plate.

After Sienna savored the last bite of cake, the dishes vanished and the students all stood. The tables were quickly removed and replaced by a shining dance floor. The stage at the back of the hall where the quartet had been playing was moved forward and a group of three witches took the stage.

"Merry Christmas, Atlantis!" The lead singer, Thorn, bellowed into the microphone. "Are you ready for a good time!?" She paused to hear the hall's screamed reply. "Well then, it's time we Hex Girls put a spell on you!"

The band began an upbeat pop song and the Olympians took the floor. After a few moments hanging back, the rest of the school moved onto the dance floor as well. Sienna was surprised when Hale grabbed her hand and led her into the crowd. "I thought you guys had formal waltzes and stuff. Why'd I have to learn to dance for pop songs?"

"This is just their most popular song. They'll sing some slower numbers in a bit and I bet the quartet will take turns with them. What, you worried you won't get to show off your fancy dancing skills?" Sienna rolled her eyes at the familiar smirk on her friend's face.

"Not worried but a little disappointed that I wasted so much time learning if I won't need it."

Hale chuckled and spun Sienna once before drawing her close to him as the song moved into a slow bridge. Sienna was intensely aware of how near their faces were. Before she could process the swooping sensation in her gut, the pace had picked up and they'd moved slightly away from each other again.

Hale was right, Sienna thought later: the dance lessons had been necessary. After the first song, the Hex Girls began a lilting pop-style tango. This wasn't one of the dances Sienna was most confident in, but she focused on her steps and let Hale lead them. She got through the tango, a waltz, and even a swing dance without stepping on any toes. Hale had stopped smirking and instead had a small, genuine smile on his face.

Sienna knew that elsewhere in the hall her friends were trading dances and chatting, but she was utterly captivated by her gorgeous partner. It was only when Ash smoothly cut between them and whisked Sienna away to the punch table that she realized how few people were still on the floor. "I take it you're having fun?" He grinned at her.

"Er, yeah. I am." The warmth in her face was only from the exercise of dancing, she assured herself. "I'm glad you interrupted though. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was."

Ash smirked at her and shook his head. "Well at least someone realized. You might want to take a walk to cool off too."

Sienna nodded. "That's a good idea. What about you? Are you having fun?"

Ash smiled. "I have fun at every ball, but I can only dance so much before I'm sated for the year. I think Freja's about ready to turn in so I don't know how long I'll stay."

Sienna blinked. "Oh, ok. How late is it?"

Ash looked at her thoughtfully. "It's after ten. You've been dancing for almost two hours."

"Oh." Sienna was thoughtful as she accepted a glass of punch from Ash. She hadn't realized it was so late. The dancing portion of the night was half over already. She wasn't sure why the thought saddened her. After all, she'd spent the last month and a half complaining about her dance lessons.

"Hale's glaring daggers at me so I'd better give you back. Have a good time, but don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Sienna's eyebrows rose even as her face grew pink again. "Er… bloody hell, Ash…" She stammered, unsure how to respond, but he just smiled, took her empty punch glass, and pushed her back toward Hale.

"You look flustered. It's cute." Sienna's blush grew fiercer under Hale's smiling gaze. "Do you want to dance some more?"

"I think I'd like to step outside for a bit. It's warm in here." Sienna looked down awkwardly as she spoke.

"Of course. Follow me, my lady." Sienna stared in shock as Hale swept into a low bow and took her arm to lead her outside.

"Er, you didn't have to come with me. You could have stayed to enjoy the music or something."

Hale laughed. "This is my fourth Yule Ball now. You are what makes tonight special." Sienna was too shocked to notice at first that his hand had left her arm and instead his fingers were now intertwined with hers.

Hale led her outside and soon they were walking the familiar path to the lake where the whole group had been sitting earlier in the day. "You really do look amazing tonight. It's impressive that you were able to put this together in such a short time. Also, I'm glad I let Ash teach you to dance." Sienna shot a glare at him but he held up a hand to forestall her argument. "I wanted tonight to be special, and I was worried it wouldn't be if it was just like another dance lesson."

The light from the dome above cast a gentle glow on them, but with his face turned down toward her, Sienna couldn't read Hale's expression. "Hale…" she said slowly, unsure if she'd even be able to speak with the tightness in her chest.

"Every year I come to the ball and enjoy myself, but it's never been more than a fancy party. Tonight though—tonight has been one of the best nights of my life. Thank you, Sienna." Her heart was beating faster as he slowly leaned toward her. When his lips brushed hers, she thought it must have been a dream. There was no way Hale had just kissed her.

She must have looked as bemused as she felt, because Hale laughed quietly before placing a hand on her cheek. This time, she was ready for the kiss and leaned into it. For the next few moments, Sienna could have sworn the whole world had stopped moving. Nothing was real except for the feeling of his lips on hers.

Even after Hale had guided her back into the hall and wrapped his arms around her for a slow, romantic song, the music and the people seemed far away to Sienna. She couldn't take her eyes off him—his warm brown eyes and soft smile, that smile that always made her heart thump in her chest.

Finally the music faded and Sienna was distantly aware of Professor Fontayre sending the students off to bed. Hale guided her back toward her dormitory and stopped near Diana. He leaned down and Sienna felt another gentle kiss set her chest to burning. She stood there for several minutes after he bade her goodnight and left. It was only when a tousled Lynne found her standing there that she actually entered the dorm.

Sienna was aware of her friends talking and asking her questions, but she didn't answer. Her mind was still outside on the lawn feeling Hale's smooth hand on her face as their mouths danced.

…

When Sienna awoke the next morning, her first thought was of the painful stiffness in her legs and feet. Her second thought was the memory of ghost lips, which brought her bolt upright in bed. Had that been real? Had Hale kissed her? Surely he didn't fancy her, right?

Carter mentioned something about breakfast, as if from a long way off, and Sienna shook her head. The last thing she wanted to do was see people. No, she needed to take some time to relax, clear her head, and figure out what the hell was going on. She dressed and left the dormitory as though in a daze.

Sienna was sitting in her corner of the courtyard, struggling to focus on the Divination essay they'd been assigned, when Hale found her.

"You weren't at breakfast. Are you ok? I didn't do something wrong did I?"

Sienna had never heard him sound so vulnerable. The tone didn't fit the confident, cool wizard she knew. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I suppose I'm just still in shock."

Hale's voice regained a bit of its snide humor. "You didn't think I felt that way about you." It was a statement rather than a question.

Sienna shook her head, not meeting his eyes.

Hale sighed, sat down next to her, and cupped her cheek gently, though he didn't try to force her gaze to his. "Sienna, no man could spend as much time with you as I have and not be utterly enchanted by you."

Sienna gaped at him. They stared at each other for a long moment, Hale smiling and Sienna staring slack-jawed. Finally Hale chuckled and pushed a napkin full of food toward her. "I figured that just because you were avoiding me didn't mean you weren't hungry."

Sienna was about to argue but her stomach gave a particularly loud rumble and she accepted the food, blushing. She took the napkin in silence and began to eat.

He waited a long moment before speaking. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Sienna met his gaze, raising her eyebrow. "See, I've raised my prices for breakfast delivery. You haven't paid my fee yet."

Sienna rolled her eyes at the playful smirk on his face. "And what is the going rate for breakfast these days?"

"A kiss." He grinned at her as she dropped the piece of toast she was holding.

_"A what?!"_

"Oh come on, you kissed me yesterday? What makes today different?" He was smirking widely now, clearly enjoying her discomfort.

"Er… but… I don't know, Hale." Sienna could feel her face heating up.

Hale rolled his eyes and snatched the napkin away. "No fee, no breakfast."

Sienna glared at him for a long moment before placing a quick peck on the corner of his mouth and grabbing at the napkin. She smiled triumphantly as she took another piece of toast.

Hale made a soft humphing sound. "I guess we'll call that a first time discount. Next time you'll have to kiss me properly though."

Sienna fought down her blush again. "Next time?"

Hale gave her a small genuine smile. "Well yeah, I was hoping there would be a next time. I had a lot of fun last night." He paused for a moment, watching her, then continued, "In fact, I was hoping you'd be willing to go out with me."

Sienna just stared at him. "Like, on a date?" She asked faintly.

Hale laughed. "I suppose I should have been clearer." He took the napkin from her and set it down on the grass before taking her hands in his. "Sienna, will you be my girlfriend?"

At first, Sienna thought she had misheard him. Then came the fleeting thought that perhaps she was dreaming. It wasn't until he rolled his eyes and pulled her in for a kiss that she truly grasped what was happening. He took advantage of her gasp to deepen the kiss, and Sienna stopped thinking about much of anything for a while.

When they finally broke apart, he laughed. "So is that a yes?"

Sienna nodded animatedly. "Yes. I… I'm really—"

He cut off her hesitant speech with another kiss. "Hmm, I could get used to this." He smirked.

Sienna rolled her eyes and turned back to her essay and her food. But when Hale moved to sit next to her and wrapped a lazy arm around her shoulder, she couldn't help but smile.

When the two walked into the hall for lunch, Sienna was surprised to see that it had completely reverted to normal. The holiday decorations had all disappeared, and many students had books propped up on the table as they began to catch up on homework.

Sienna slid into her seat between Hale and Ash and began to serve herself food as the others continued their discussion of the night before.

"Come on, Lynne. Just admit that you and Lucero snuck off to a little broom closet somewhere last night. I saw you leave early but you were late coming back to the dorm." Carter was practically poking a very flushed Lynne with her fork.

"I resent your implications, Carter. Lucero and I took a stroll around the grounds then returned to the hall." Lynne actually sniffed.

"Aye, but will Lucero confirm that story?" Latharn grinned and turned expectantly to the Spaniard. "So? What happened? How far'd you get?"

Lucero looked thoughtful for a second, and Lynne squirmed. But then he laughed, put a hand on Lynne's shoulder, and said, "I don't know what you want me to say. What the lady said happened, happened."

Lynne sighed in relief. Carter looked ready to continue prodding though, so Lynne cut her off by turning to Sienna. "What about you two? You were standing out in the hall when I got back looking like you had seen a ghost."

Sienna flushed as eight sets of eyes settled on her and Hale. She croaked out a few disjointed syllables before she felt Hale pull her into his chest. "What Lynne? Are you enforcing curfew now? I'm sorry I got my girlfriend back so late, but I can't promise it won't happen again."

The silence stretched for a long moment before Ash started laughing. "I knew it! Cough up, Pixie, because it's time to pay the piper!"

Carter groaned and pulled a handful of silver sickles from her bag. "I bet you had insider information. That's no fair, Rene!"

Ash scooped up the sickles and continued laughing, as the rest of the table managed to overcome their surprise. Lynne squealed as Latharn and Lucero clapped Hale on the back. There was a clattering noise as Kiki knocked over her glass. She didn't meet anyone's eyes as she picked up her bag and left the hall.

"Congratulations, you guys." Freja said softly as she stood. When she noticed Sienna still staring in the direction Kiki had fled, she added, "She'll be ok. I'll go talk to her."

Kiki's flight had dampened the mood at the table. They ate in silence until Lynne broke in. "Ah, shall we head down to the library after lunch? I for one have a great deal of homework to finish before term starts on Monday."

The others reluctantly agreed (no one really wanted to spend the day after Christmas writing essays) but within a half hour the eight remaining classmates had gathered their books and settled down in their favorite study room in the library. Eventually, Kiki and Freja joined them, though Kiki wouldn't look at Hale or Sienna and was even quieter than usual.

The afternoon dragged on as the classmates worked in intermittent silence. Occasionally someone would ask a question or borrow some notes before the silence resumed. Sienna had completed her Divination essay, her History of Magic essay on Persian wizardry, and was nearing the end of a lengthy Potions essay on the best ways to develop an antidote to an unknown potion when, across the table from her, Carter stood abruptly. "If I sit here any longer I'll go mad. Fox? Wanna go spar a bit? I need to hit something."

Latharn yawned and stretched before beginning to pack up his books and parchment. "Sounds good to me. Besides, Fischer will kill us if we don't practice at all over the holiday. Lucero? You coming?"

Lucero nodded. "Sure. Thanks." He leaned over to give Lynne a quick kiss. "I'll see you at dinner _mi amore_."

Sienna turned back to her potions book, still working on the differences between creating an anti-venom versus a standard antidote, when Hale flipped her book closed. She shot him a glare and struggled to reopen her book.

"We need to train too, Sienna. Gladinor said he won't give you a pass in the class until you can beat me in a match."

Sienna scowled at her near-finished essay before reluctantly packing up. She'd have to finish it after dinner. At least at this rate, by the weekend she should have completed all of her homework.

She walked to the dormitory with Carter to change into her sparring clothes, then they walked to the entrance hall to meet the boys. When the five reached the arena, they broke off into two groups. There was a room full of mats off the arena where the hand-to-hand combat students had their lessons, and that was where Carter, Latharn, and Lucero went to practice. As usual, Hale and Sienna faced off in the open air arena.

Sienna frowned at him as they guarded their swords. "What do you mean Gladinor won't let me pass if I don't beat you? I've hit you a bunch of times."

Hale laughed, swinging his sword back and forth to warm up his arms. "You've hit me, yes, but you've never struck what would be a death blow or disarmed me. So you haven't ever beaten me. But Gladinor doesn't care if you manage it in practice or in class. He told me to keep an eye out and if you ever manage to actually beat me I should let him know."

Sienna scowled again. "I don't suppose if we get to the end of the year and I haven't won a round yet you'll just lie to him?"

Hale laughed harder before taking his stance. "Don't put me in the position where I'd have to then."

They didn't talk for a long time as their swords clashed. As usual, Sienna landed a few nice hits, but none would have been lethal and Hale still landed far more. When both were finally out of breath, they were interrupted by their classmates' return. "You guys should clean up and head to dinner or it'll be gone. We all lost track of time. It's pretty late."

Hale thanked them before turning back to Sienna. "You're getting better. You'll beat me before too long."

Sienna smiled and lay back onto the ground of the arena as she tried to catch her breath. "Thanks, but I still don't feel that good. How are you never tired after sparring anyway?"

Hale shrugged and settled to the ground beside her, taking her hand in his. "I am tired, just not as out of breath. I think it's because I trained with Gladinor for so many years. I mean, neither of us can really hold a candle to him, so he pushed me really hard. It's nice having someone different to train with though. Keeps me sharp."

Sienna squeezed his hand in response, before closing her eyes to enjoy the crisp air. After a few minutes, her cooling sweat started to make her shiver, so she pushed herself up. "We should probably eat. Thanks for the practice though. I will beat you eventually, you know."

Hale laughed. "I know you will." He pulled her to her feet, and they started walking back toward the palace, hand in hand.

Just as they were about to climb the stairs to the main doors, Hale stopped, looking at their hands in confusion. It took Sienna a few moments to notice what he had—a slight buzzing at her wrist. She jerked her hand away.

"Er, I just remembered: I forgot something at the arena. I need to go get it. I'll see you in a bit ok?"

"I can come with you if you want. It's not far." Hale had already turned to start walking, but Sienna quickly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"No, it's fine. There's no need for you to miss dinner. Actually," she said, thinking quickly. "I'll come eat with you, and I can run down to get it later. That'll be fine. Now come eat, or there won't be anything left!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the palace. Whatever Harry wanted to tell her, he'd have to wait for a bit. She liked and trusted Hale, but she was breaking a host of rules by having the mirror and she couldn't risk him turning her in to Fontayre.

She ignored his protests and unspoken questions and pulled him down to their customary seats. She ate quickly, while chatting with her friends. When Ash suggested they study a bit more in the library after dinner, Sienna made a few excuses for herself, saying she was ready to turn in early. No one questioned her as she left them in the entrance hall, acting as though she was heading to the Amazon dormitory.

When their footsteps had passed out of hearing down the corridor leading to the library, Sienna made her way back into the entrance hall and out into the night. She walked quickly to her cave behind the waterfall and slumped to the hard floor.

"Hi Harry, sorry I'm late. I had to shake off my classmates. Are you ok?" His face looked strained in the mirror.

"I had another vision, earlier today. You-Know-Who" (apparently there was charm on the name to help Death Eaters trace Order members) "was talking to Janus again. Apparently the plans are ahead of schedule at Atlantis. There wasn't any other information, but he was thrilled."

Sienna swallowed hard. She had been so distracted with the Yule Ball and Hale that she hadn't looked farther into Kiki or tried to find others who could be the spy. "Thanks for letting me know Harry. I'll keep looking for the spy." She paused for a moment, searching for another conversation topic. "How have you been? Have you made any progress with the Horcrux search?"

"Well, erm, it's been a bit of a whirlwind if I'm honest." With that, Harry proceeded to tell her of his and Hermione's trip to Godric Hollow, their run-in with the Bathilda Bagshot imposter, and his broken wand. "So then I was keeping watch, just a few hours ago, and I saw a doe Patronus that led me to the sword of Gryffindor. I… I think it was my mum."

"Harry, you know your mum is… well, she's dead. We had this conversation four years ago when you thought you saw your dad that night with the Dementors. I know how much you want it to be a sign, but lots of people can share the same Patronus."

Harry sighed and stared off somewhere beside the mirror. "Yeah, I know. But someone led me to the sword, and they're on our side. I mean, how many Order members do you suppose have a doe Patronus?"

Sienna frowned. "I'm really not sure, but I don't think you'll be able to solve that mystery until you can talk to Lupin or one of the members again and ask them. Anyway, what happened after you found the sword?"

Harry continued his story, telling of the icy lake and Ron's return. When he described the shadows that emerged from the locket when Ron tried to destroy it, he looked decidedly uncomfortable.

"Harry, Ron knows you and Hermione don't feel that way about each other. Voldemort preys on our fears to control us and tear us apart. Both of you know that."

Harry bit his lip. "Yeah I know, but Ron has always been so self-conscious about being second best, to his brothers and then to me. I don't want him to spend his life wondering what happened while he was gone."

Sienna gave him a small smile. "I know that, Harry, but you can't take on that burden by yourself. Ron and Hermione will have to talk, and he will either trust her word or he won't."

Harry groaned. "I was afraid you'd say something like that. I don't like not being able to do things."

Sienna laughed, and soon Harry was chuckling too. It felt good. Like old times, before the war. It felt like they were children again.

They spoke a while longer. When Harry asked about the Yule Ball, Sienna could feel her face burning. He begged for details, but she refused to say more than that she'd had a good time and not made a fool of herself dancing. At last they said their goodnights, and Sienna quickly left the cave. When she reached the pool beneath the waterfall, she found Hale there waiting for her.

"You know, I was starting to wonder if you'd ever come down."

Sienna stood rooted in place, eyes wide in shock. "How long have you been here?"

"Since you came back. You were acting weirdly at dinner and then conveniently 'forgot' that you'd said you needed to go back to the arena, so I waited to see if you'd actually gone to your dormitory. Imagine my surprise when you climbed up behind the waterfall. So? Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Hale was still sitting, but he had leaned toward her and his eyes were glittering in the pale silver glow of the dome.

Sienna sat down next to him, trying to appear at ease while scrambling for an excuse. "I, er, I need time to myself to think sometimes. There's a little cave up there that has become my sanctuary I guess. I was telling the truth when I said I was too tired to work more tonight, but I needed some time to think and relax before sleeping. This is my favorite spot for that."

Hale nodded, still watching her. "You could have just told me, you know."

Sienna bit her lip. "I wanted to have something that was just mine; that I didn't have to share."

Hale turned away, looking up at the waterfall. "I understand that. Just," he looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Next time tell me what's going on. I was worried about you. If you hadn't shown up soon, I would have climbed up after you."

Sienna forced a laugh and stood. "Come on, we should get back." As the two walked back to the palace in silence, Sienna thought that she should be grateful he hadn't come up. She would have been alerted by her spells that he was there, but she would have had to cut her conversation short. Although, now that she thought of it, she couldn't remember if she'd cast her spells. She'd been in such a rush after making her excuses to her friends that she hadn't been paying much attention.

She sneaked a glance at Hale. There was no reason for him to lie to her right? If he'd overheard her, surely he would have been asking questions about Harry and her ability to contact him. Yes, it was far more likely that he waited by the lake exactly as he said. That made more sense.

Really, she told herself firmly as she made her way down through the Amazon common room and into her dormitory, she should be far more concerned about the spy than whatever Hale may or may not have noticed. If Harry was right, the spy had a specific plan in mind for her or Atlantis, and it was moving ahead faster than scheduled. If Sienna didn't want to be caught by surprise, she'd have to start actively working to uncover the spy. Waiting to see if he or she slipped up was clearly not working. She needed a plan.

Sienna laid in bed for what seemed like hours, trying to figure out where a spy at Atlantis would hide, what he could possibly be trying to accomplish, and how she'd find him. Eventually her careful planning gave way to dreams of a swift river, a golden koi, and a whisper: _"Remember the gift. And never forget: no one goes looking for fool's gold, but many find it and mistake it for gold."_


	10. A Second Family

Without the steadily changing seasons, Sienna found that the months passed far faster than she was aware of. January was giving way to February and she still was no closer to identifying the spy. Her first thought had been to research the Dark Arts teacher, but it turned out that Professor Rathi taught both Defense against the Dark Arts as well as the Dark Arts honors class. Not only that, Rathi had fought in the first war against Voldemort. She would tell stories in class on occasion and Sienna couldn't imagine that anyone would have fought against Voldemort the first time and then switch sides now, when the Order was so much more prepared.

Sienna had also decided to look into Kiki's backstory a bit more. Through carefully placed, seemingly offhanded questions, Sienna had learned that Kiki actually came from one of the most talented families to ever fight the Dark Arts. The Ryuzo family was known across Japan for teaching defensive magic at Mahoutokoro. When Sienna asked why Kiki studied the Dark Arts, Hale had only shrugged. "You'll have to ask her yourself if you want to know more. Though, she doesn't like to talk about her family, so I doubt you'll get much."

As curious as Sienna was about Kiki's reasons for turning away from her family's legacy, she couldn't really justify further exploration into Kiki's backstory. She had never shown any signs of cruelty or evil, and all evidence pointed against her being a Death Eater, especially now that Sienna knew her classmate's grudge was based on jealousy over Hale. More importantly, Sienna didn't really have time to investigate anyone any more. With February came the realization that their N.E.W.T.s were only four months away.

Across Atlantis, the professors were pushing the students ever harder to be ready for the exams. For some, like Rinne, this manifested in additional homework detailing every mistake made in class. Other teachers decided to use this time to teach their most difficult topics. Nowhere was this the case more than the joint Transfiguration and Divination seminars. Apparently, seventh year Amazons and Elysians were expected to become registered animagi before they graduated.

Sienna had done some research on the logistics of becoming an animagus while still at Hogwarts, first to help Hermione investigate Rita Skeeter and later in the hopes of developing the skill herself. However, she'd given it up after realizing the level of difficulty and the consequences of messing it up. Now here she was, eighteen years old, and expected to become an animagus to graduate. Sienna shook her head in wonder as she returned her attention to the two professors at the front of the class.

"As you know, the animagus form of a wizard is not chosen, but is determined by the same affinity that selects the form of one's Patronus charm. For most wizards, their Patronus is the same animal as their animagus form, although it is possible for them to be different. Most wizards do not care to spend the time and effort to become an animagus especially as they cannot control the resulting form. However," Clannyte paused and looked over the room gravely. "At Atlantis we see animagus training as both a necessary part of advanced Transfiguration and as a logical progression of your Divination studies. This means that we will be working with each of you to help you understand how best to utilize your particular form in your future."

Sienna nodded as she listened. Her professor's words fit well with her own research into the subject. Since her own Patronus was a falcon, Sienna was thrilled at the prospect of it being her animagus form as well.

For the rest of the lesson, the class was forced to take careful notes as Fischer explained the mechanics of the spell. Then both professors demonstrated their own animagus forms. Clannyte became a raven while Fischer transformed into a large, muscled brown hunting dog.

When the bell rang, the students immediately began discussing what their future animagus forms would be. "A fox will be perfect for this!" Carter was saying loudly. "I mean, it's my Patronus and they're great at sneaking around."

"I'm not sure what I'll do," Freja said softly to Ash on Sienna's other side. "I mean, my Patronus is a bear. It won't exactly be a subtle animal to hang around as. But maybe it'll be worth it for the defense capability. I'll have to talk to Professor Clannyte, I suppose. What about you, Ash? You're in the same position, aren't you?"

Ash sighed. "Yeah, I don't know if it's such a good idea to be changing into a great wolf all the time. They're not uncommon in Canada but I think the No-Majs would figure something was up eventually."

Sienna joined the two as they walked out of the class, since she and Freja were both headed to Ancient Runes next. "Some dogs look like wolves, right? You could pretend to be one of them. You'd make a cute husky."

Freja and Ash laughed. "Yeah, I suppose I could do that. I wonder if I could sneak down to the Amazon dorm as a wolf. I've always wanted to see your fancy forbidden dormitory."

Freja hit Ash hard on the arm. "Even if Lady Diana couldn't see through a juvenile trick like that, I sure as hell would. You think as the college lead I'd let you into the dorm?"

Ash smirked slyly. "What if I'd come to see you? The dormitories get pretty cold in the winter. I thought you would have appreciated a bit of warmth." Freja moved to hit Ash again, but he was ready this time and dodged. "Bloody hell, Freja, fine. I won't come and keep you warm. What about you, Sienna? Want some wolf-puppy cuddles at night?"

Sienna laughed as Freja raised her wand threateningly. "Thanks, Ash, but I'll pass. Besides, I think you'd end up caught in a fight between Freja and Hale at that point and you know they're better in Dueling than you are."

Ash shrugged. "Well, the Elysian dormitory is much easier to get into. Let me know if you ever want to come visit. Could be a fun surprise for Hale, eh?"

Sienna blushed and stuttered out an argument. Ash only laughed. Ever since she and Hale had started dating, Sienna had been forced to endure a never-ending onslaught of jokes and innuendos from the group, particularly Ash. Hale was often present for these remarks, but he never seemed the slightest bit put out. In fact, more often than not Hale would agree or carry on the joke in order to see Sienna discomfited. If she complained, the excuse was always that she "looked cute" when she was embarrassed.

Luckily, the three had arrived at the Ancient Runes classroom, so Ash was forced to turn around and leave them alone. Sienna sighed heavily as she took her seat.

"You can't let it get to you like that. Ash wouldn't keep at it if you didn't react so much. He just likes getting a rise out of people. Surely you've noticed that by now."

Sienna looked over at Freja. "I know. I'm not sure why it bugs me so much. I guess I'm just not sure how I'm supposed to be acting now that Hale and I are dating. I've never really done this before, and I sure as hell am not about to be one of those girls always hanging off her boyfriend like a piece of clothing."

Freja smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, I see how that would be confusing. To be honest though, I'm surprised Hale is as calm as he is. He's never seemed the type to date. I was shocked when he took such an interest in you. Nothing against you, but he's never shown real interest in any girl as long as I've known him. I mean, he'll flirt with anyone—he's like Ash in that way—but Ash definitely wants a real relationship someday, and I'd never gotten that impression from Hale."

Sienna frowned thoughtfully, but before she could reply, Drenyiv arrived. "Good afternoon, ladies." She said softly, striding into the room. "I've decided that we would start working on something new. Here at Atlantis, we have a large number of artifacts and texts from the old city. The dialect is rather old, but I want you to try translating some of these ancient texts. The runes should largely be what you're familiar with, but I've brought you an additional dictionary specifically dealing with ancient forms and archaic words. Please work together on this task." She set down a large pile of decrepit books with several folders on top. "Please choose a passage from one of these books or one of the inscriptions in the folders to translate. You have until the end of class. Best of luck."

Sienna and Freja spent the rest of class poring over the rubbing of an ancient stone tablet that they'd chosen. As they worked their way through the translation, Freja began to frown. "This is odd," she said finally, as they finished a particularly difficult section.

"What is?" Sienna asked, only half paying attention to her classmate as she flipped through the dictionary looking for another antiquated word.

"Well, it appears that this tablet is explaining where to find a gateway to the continent."

"And?" Sienna asked after a moment, even as she jotted down the translated word onto the parchment.

Freja rolled her eyes and looked at Sienna meaningfully. "And if it's still there then the train isn't the only way out of Atlantis."

This made Sienna look up. "You think the gateway might have survived?"

"Why not? Just because the city was sunk doesn't mean a magical gateway would cease to function. If I attached one end of a gateway to an empty doorframe and then moved the doorframe, the gateway would still work as expected. It would just depend on whether the magic was tied to a location or to an object. As long as the magic was tied to the arch or door itself, then the gateway would have survived."

Sienna thought about it for a while. "Wouldn't the teachers have sealed it or something? The school wouldn't be secure if you could wander into the old city accidentally right?"

Freja frowned before slowly shaking her head. "They wouldn't need to. The city is at the bottom of the ocean after all. Anyone who wandered in would be crushed by the pressure before they could even drown. Researchers have to create a temporary version of the bubble that protects the school to even visit the ruins."

Sienna nodded slowly before turning back to the translation. Could there be another way out of the school? It was certainly an interesting thought. Also, she reasoned, that could be how the spy was getting word to Janus about the events unfolding within the school. Maybe someone was sneaking out to give reports to Voldemort.

"Does the location mean anything to you?" Sienna asked quietly as the two girls packed up their books after class.

Freja frowned. "Sort of. The text mentioned several well-known landmarks from the city. The festival courtyard was the central point in the city and the storehouses are beneath it. However, I'm not sure what the Petitioner's Gate is. There are seven or eight entrances to the ancient city, but I've never run across that name before."

"Do you think we can learn more from some of the other rubbings?" Sienna asked slowly.

"Maybe. I didn't know Atlantis had a collection like that. My runes are only now good enough to read them anyway. So maybe we'll find more information. Then we can verify the location when we visit."

"Visit?" Sienna stopped midway down the stairs, staring at Freja in shock.

"Of course. Every year over Easter holidays Fontayre and the college advisors take the seventh years out to the ruins of Atlantis. It's an old tradition, but the students never say anything about the trip so I don't really know what happens. I suppose Clannyte would let us check the location of the gateway if we asked though. It would be amazing to be a part of uncovering history like that."

Sienna thought of her mum, excavating ancient temples in South America and felt a small pang of regret. The hope and excitement in Freja's voice—that's probably what her mum felt every time she started a new project. Maybe if she'd been more interested in her mum's research, they would have gotten along better. "Yeah, it would be cool to document something like that." She said finally, her voice soft.

Freja didn't appear to hear her, since she took her seat at the dinner table without responding. For the first time in a month, Sienna wondered how her sisters were getting along. Harry had promise to tell Sienna if he heard anything about her family, and honestly no news was good news during the war, but Sienna still wondered. She hoped they'd be alright.

"Sienna? Are you ok?" Hale asked softly, leaning toward her on the pretense of serving himself pie.

Sienna nodded. When Hale prodded her gently with his elbow, she sighed. "I'm worried about my family. I haven't heard from them since the war started and my mum's a Muggle-born, so she could be in a lot of danger. They're in hiding so hopefully they're alright, but I'm scared."

Hale didn't say anything at first. He wrapped an arm around Sienna's shoulder and pulled her close to him. Once she had begun to relax in the embrace he nuzzled her hair and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Sienna squeezed his knee gently. "You didn't do anything. And I'd know if something had happened." She caught a glimpse of a raised eyebrow and hurriedly added, "Well, I think I'd have felt that something was wrong. You know? I have to believe that."

Hale didn't push the matter and Sienna sighed in relief. She had almost revealed that she had an outside source of information. She was getting far too comfortable around her new friends. She couldn't be careless like that. Scrambling for a change of topic, Sienna noticed that conversation at the table had turned to Quidditch. As expected, the Amazon team had swept the Trojans in their match in January. Now, Elysium was a week away from their match against Olympia. If the Elysians won, then the final match of the season would determine the Cup winners.

"Surely you have some sort of strategy though," Freja was prodding Latharn. "They are the Dragons. You can't just walk in and expect to beat them."

"You all did! Carter didn't have a strategy. Maybe we should elect a pep talk giver though. Sienna, you feel up to giving Lamont some tips?"

Carter spluttered angrily as Sienna flushed. "I am definitely not the pep talk giver. I think Hale would be much better at it than I am anyway."

Most of the table laughed and Sienna's flush deepened. "That's ridiculous, Sienna, and you know it." Hale chuckled. "You're a leader, like it or not. People follow you."

Carter and Freja nodded from across the table and Ash clapped Sienna on the back. Sienna looked around at the table blankly. A leader? Her? Harry had always been the leader. She'd been a backstage supporter her whole life, and that was really where she was comfortable. "You guys are insane." She finally decided and turned her attention back to her dinner.

The others didn't press their case and returned to discussing the upcoming match. Hale kept his arm around Sienna, keeping her pressed to his side. She found she didn't mind. He was warm and his presence was comforting. In fact, when the group rose and retreated back to the library to continue wading through their assignments, Sienna found she missed the warmth of his arm. Fighting back her own shyness, she scooted her chair closer to Hale's and rested her hand on his leg. Without even looking at her, Hale slipped his own hand into hers.

. . .

The day of the Quidditch match brought excitement in every corner of the palace. The Olympians were still licking their wounds over their loss to Amazonia, and they weren't about to take any lip from the Elysian team.

As Sienna filed into the stands along with the other Amazons and Sil, she knew this was going to be the most exciting match she'd witnessed in years. Besides the fact that both teams were incredibly skilled, the stakes were high. If the Olympians won, they could still make a comeback for the Cup, depending on the spread. However, if the Elysians won, the Olympians would be out of the running and it would all come down to the Elysium versus Amazonia match that was scheduled for April. The Amazons were more than willing to support their friends and play them for the Cup. Everyone in the college preferred the idea of the Elysians taking the Cup from them rather than the Olympians winning it again. As a result, even the bronze section of the stands was full of sapphire pendants.

When the players walked out onto the field, Sienna felt her eyes drawn to the Leopards. The four seventh years stood tall and held themselves with an easy grace. Ash, his hair long and silver as it had been the night she'd met him, was chatting animatedly with Latharn who led the group. Lucero walked with Hale and the other two Chasers, Jai Singh, the Indian boy who'd attended the Yule Ball with Hyeki, and a boy with shoulder length copper hair that Sienna had never met. As they lined up across from the Olympian team, Hale looked up and caught Sienna's eye. She beamed at him and he gave her a quick wink before mounting his broom.

The whistle blew and the match began. The Olympians were even more impressive to watch than they'd been to play against. Sienna was dumbstruck by the speed of the match. Purple and sapphire blurred her vision, strongly reminding her of the Quidditch World Cup. Soojae feinted, allowing Tatiana to score the first goal. Lynne groaned. "I love Lucero but he's not nearly as talented a Keeper as you are, Freja."

Freja nodded absently, her eyes fixed on the match below. "Tatiana and Soojae are both being courted by professional teams, so you can't really be surprised. Their Keeper, Eliza Hughes, is already signed with the Hollyhead Harpies. This game will be tough. I'm still not sure how we managed to beat them."

Sienna couldn't help but agree as she watched the third Chaser, a dark fifth year apparently called Karimi, score a second goal, bringing the score to twenty to zero. Before the Dragons could get comfortable, Jai was streaking across the pitch, Quaffle in hand. He passed to Hale at the last moment, who scored the first goal for Elysium.

From there, the game only got more ferocious. Neither team would give an inch and, with the Chasers' skills, the score on both sides kept climbing. Hale scored several more times, but the Olympian Keeper, Hughes, was doing far better than Lucero at defending the goalposts.

"Song scores again! That brings the Olympian lead to a hundred and twenty to sixty. The Elysians need a miracle to win this."

Sienna groaned, but watched the game with rapt attention. Hale had the Quaffle again and a clear path to the goalpost. One of the Olympian beaters, Chavez, was moving rapidly to intercept him, bat ready. Just as he slammed a Bludger toward Hale, a roar rose up around Sienna. She looked around to see Ash grinning while holding the struggling Snitch.

Behind Sienna, Kiki screamed.

Sienna whirled back to where Hale had been flying and caught sight of him clinging to his broom with one hand, the other arm hanging limply, and blood flowing freely from his head and hand as he struggled to control his descent. In an instant Sienna was on her feet and running down the stairs, two at a time.

When she reached the field, she found a pallid Hale leaning heavily on Latharn. "Hale!" Sienna cried as she moved under his broken arm to help support him. "Come on, let's get you to the infirmary."

"Sienna?" Hale's voice was groggy and his eyes were unfocused. Clearly he'd lost a lot of blood already. "Are you okay? You seem upset." He took another step forward and almost collapsed. Sienna and Latharn were the only things keeping him upright.

"Lucero!" Sienna called behind her, struggling forward with Latharn, as Hale could no longer support any of his own weight. "Lucero! Can you stop the bleeding?"

Lucero was next to them an instant later. He conjured a roll of clean white bandages and wrapped Hale's head quickly. "He's lost a lot of blood. We need to get him to Madam Bordeaux quickly." Lucero moved Sienna and took up her position next to Hale. He and Latharn quickly carried their friend off the pitch and up to the palace.

Sienna was frozen in place for a moment, the image of Hale's ghostly pale face looming in her memory. She shook herself and had just begun to follow them when she heard a retching noise behind her. Ash was standing off to the side of the pitch, his face ashen as he emptied his stomach. Sienna glanced at the palace, then walked back to him. "Ash?"

He looked up at her, wiping his mouth as he grimaced. "Hey, Sienna." He dropped his gaze, seemingly unwilling to make eye-contact. "Sorry you had to see that."

"Are you alright?"

"I… well, I don't do well with blood." He sounded more embarrassed than Sienna had ever heard him.

"No one does well with blood. I thought I was going to pass out to be honest." Sienna agreed, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, we should get up to the palace. I want to be there when Hale wakes up. And you could probably use some pumpkin juice to get the taste of vomit out of your mouth."

Ash cringed slightly but nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks Sienna." They joined the flow of students back up to the palace, silently lost in their own thoughts.

When they arrived at the infirmary, they found the rest of the Elysian team, Sil, and the seventh year Amazons already arrayed around a bed where Hale lay, unconscious. Madam Bordeaux was mending his broken arm while a steaming goblet of Blood-Replenishing Potion waited on the bedside table for Hale to wake.

The others looked around as Sienna and Ash entered the room, and Kiki, who had been sitting in the chair nearest Hale's bed, rose reluctantly, her pained eyes never leaving Hale's face. Sienna walked up next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her back toward the chair. Kiki looked up at her in surprise as Sienna conjured her own chair and took a seat next to Kiki, where both girls could watch over Hale.

Sienna was aware of the subdued conversation behind her, but she couldn't focus on it. She also wasn't sure when Kiki had begun clutching her hand like a lifeline, but the contact was comforting. After a few minutes that dragged on like hours, Hale stirred. The infirmary went still and silent as his eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, Hale," Sienna said tentatively. "How're you feeling?"

Hale focused on her, eyes still glassy. "Not brilliant, if I'm honest. What happened? Memory's a bit fuzzy."

Latharn, who was standing on Hale's other side, stepped forward and gave him an overview of the match while Madam Bordeaux forced the Blood-Replenishing Potion on Hale. When the goblet was empty, Hale looked back at the group. Sienna was relieved to see that his color was returning already. "I'm glad we won. Sounds like a fairly tight match."

The team's agreement was cut short by Madam Bordeaux. "I let you all stay until he woke up, just as promised, but you all need to leave now so Mr. Lamont can rest. He can have up to three visitors at a time. The rest of you need to come back later."

The seventh years began to mutter, none wanting to leave, but the younger members of the Quidditch team said their goodbyes promptly and left the infirmary. After a few minutes of discussion on who would stay, Sienna, Kiki, and Latharn were left in the infirmary as the others wished Hale a speedy recovery. Sienna watched the five leave the room and wondered absently when Ash had left. She didn't remember seeing him after they walked into the room together.

She turned back to Hale and gave him her best bedside smile. "You played really well today."

Hale snorted before grimacing in pain. "If you say so. We're lucky Ash caught the Snitch before they stretched their lead any further."

Latharn chuckled weakly. "Their Seeker, Visser, isn't bad but she's not as good as Ash and Pixie are. Ash was always going to be the one to end the game. It was a race against the clock."

The group continued discussing the match until Madam Bordeaux returned with a Sleeping Draught for Hale. Sienna pulled out a book to give her something to do as she watched over him, while Kiki and Latharn moved a little way from the bed so they could work on an essay for their Dark Arts class.

By unspoken agreement, everyone knew that Sienna would be staying in the infirmary until Hale was released or Bordeaux forced her out. As a result, when Lynne and Lucero arrived an hour later to replace Kiki and Latharn, no one even asked if Sienna wanted to be relieved.

Before she left, Kiki put a hand on Sienna's shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Sienna was surprised as she'd really never spoken to Kiki one-on-one before, but she nodded and followed her classmate from the infirmary.

Once outside, Kiki turned back to her, eyes lowered. " _Ano_ , Sienna, I think I owe you an apology. I've been a bitch to you this year and—"

Sienna raised a hand to forestall her next comment. "Kiki, I understand. I know what it feels like to watch someone you love with someone else, especially when you're not convinced they're a good fit. I never meant to hurt you. I'm sorry."

Kiki's look of surprise was quickly replaced by gratitude. "For the record, he seems a lot happier since you've been here. So, thank you for that."

Sienna blinked in surprise before smiling. "I want him to be happy just as much as you do. I won't do anything to hurt him."

Kiki nodded and turned quickly, walking away. Sienna watched her retreating form for a moment before reentering the infirmary and resuming her seat.

The day passed slowly for Sienna. Every hour, the other two seats at Hale's bedside would be filled by someone different. The seventh years and most of the Elysian Quidditch team took at least one hour-long vigil. Some, like Kiki, returned a few times throughout the day. Sienna hadn't left her seat since her conversation with Kiki, when Freja put a hand on her shoulder, startling her from her story.

"Sienna, you should go eat something. They'll be cleaning up dinner soon. I'll watch him until you get back."

Sienna considered arguing, but the ache in her stomach was becoming unbearable. So she thanked Freja quietly and made her way down to the dining hall. The table was nearly empty since most of the students had long finished eating. Only Ash and Sil were sitting in their normal seats.

"How's Hale?" Ash asked as soon as he saw Sienna.

"He's alright. Still sleeping. He's woken up a few times but never for long. Madam Bordeaux says the sleep will do him more good than any potion." Sienna sighed heavily, scooping pot pie onto her plate.

"See, Ash. He'll be fine." Sil's voice was soothing, and Sienna looked up sharply. Now that she was paying attention, she saw that Ash still looked as pale and haggard as he had on the Quidditch pitch and was pushing his food around his plate. In fact, Sienna thought suddenly, Ash was the only one of their friends who hadn't returned to the infirmary at all.

"Ash, you know you could come see him if you're worried." She gauged his reaction as she spoke. As she had suspected, he flinched.

"He's in good hands. You don't need me there distracting any of you." Ash laughed unconvincingly.

Sienna looked past him at Sil, raising an eyebrow quizzically. Sil rolled his eyes. "Ash, are _you_ ok?" She turned in her seat to face him squarely.

His laugh had a clear note of panic now. "Of course I am." Sil actually snorted. Ash whirled on him. "It's not funny, Sil. I don't make fun of you for these things."

Sil shrugged. "Sienna knows I'm scared of fire. It's not something to make fun of. She won't make fun of you and hospitals either."

Ash sputtered as Sienna looked between the two of them. "Ash? Did something happen?"

Ash groaned, dropping his head to his hands. Sienna chanced another glance at Sil who was now ignoring them both and reading his Herbology textbook. She turned back to Ash and began rubbing his back in what she hoped was a soothing gesture.

"It's not a big deal." Ash said finally, but he didn't raise his head. "I've only ever been to hospitals when people were dying. And I can't deal with them. They're so white and they've got that smell of disinfectant that's supposed to cover up the smell of blood and death." He shuddered visibly.

"No one likes hospitals, Ash. They're sad and uncomfortable and scary. Hale has been asleep most of the day anyway, so you're not missing anything. You can stop by tomorrow if you'd like or else you'll see him once he's released."

Ash threw her a tight smile and turned back to his food. He managed a few small bites. Sil, who apparently had been watching them, smiled at Sienna. "I'm next watch. We should get back."

Sienna nodded at him, squeezed Ash's shoulder lightly, and stood to walk back to the infirmary with Sil. "Thanks," he said quietly once they had left the hall.

Sienna considered him for a moment before shrugging. "You guys are my family now and I protect my family."

. . .

"I'll repeat it again, we're not going to spar. You've only just been released from the infirmary." Sienna shook her head in exasperation as she hurried to keep up with Hale. It was Sunday afternoon when he'd finally been released under strict orders to take it easy. Sienna had spent the twenty minutes since then chasing Hale around and trying to make him sit still.

"I've been stuck in that bed for twenty-four hours. I need to do something." Hale sounded for all the world like a petulant child. Sienna would have laughed had she not been the one trying to deal with him.

"Let's go sit by the lake and play chess then. Madam Bordeaux said you need to take the week off from your combat classes to recover anyway. We'll spar next weekend to make sure you're ready for class."

Hale groaned and turned back to her. "Sienna—please?"

Sienna put her hands on her hips, trying to channel the authority Mrs. Weasley used when her sons were misbehaving. "I will tie you up and drag you back to the palace if I have to."

"I mean, if that's what you're into." Hale threw her a wicked grin, catching Sienna off guard.

_"Huh?"_

Hale doubled over laughing. "That reaction will never get old," he gasped through his laughter.

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better," Sienna scowled.

Hale straightened up, smiling gently. "I am feeling better. I was well taken care of."

"Madam Bordeaux is good at what she does," Sienna agreed, relieved that the subject of sparring had been dropped.

Hale laughed again. "I wasn't talking about Bordeaux. The way I hear it, you only left my bedside when someone dragged you away." He pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you, Sienna."

"I was worried about you." Sienna held him close. "I haven't even known you a year, but I couldn't bear the thought of you not waking up."

Hale pulled back just enough to lean down and press his lips to hers. "How could I not wake up with you waiting there for me?"

Sienna felt her eyes prickle as she closed the gap between them again. "I'll always be there waiting so I expect you to always be ok in the end. I love you, Hale."

He stiffened, staring at her with wide eyes. "Sienna…" He said slowly.

Sienna smiled and kissed him again. "You don't have to say anything right now. But I thought you should know."

Hale pulled her into another tight hug. He was shaking slightly and he held her as if she'd disappear the moment he let go. "Thank you, Sienna."

She held him close until his breathing slowed. They walked back to the main building to join their friends for dinner soon after. For the rest of the evening Hale stayed close beside her, never leaving her until forced to for bed. Sienna's dreams that night had neither koi nor a shadowy spy, just Hale, holding her like she was the only thing real in the world.


	11. The Ruins of Atlantis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who's been curious about the history of Atlantis, here you go! This chapter includes the story of how Atlantis sank. I hope you enjoy!

The second term passed quickly for Sienna and the other seventh years. Hale had made a full recovery, just as Madam Bordeaux had predicted, and Ash had returned to his laughing, sarcastic self. The spells and potions needed to become animagi were extremely time-consuming, and Sienna and Freja were spending time outside of Ancient Runes looking for information on the Petitioner's Gate as well.

April had arrived and the Easter holidays were only a week away when Freja ran into the dining hall one day at dinner. "Sienna! I found it!"

Sienna looked up from her chicken quickly, excitement drumming through her. "Let me see!" She moved over to give Freja room to sit down on the bench next to her.

"I found this in another rubbing. Do you need a dictionary?" Sienna shook her head as she bent down to read the runes Freja was holding.

"So, it's a back entrance to the temple?"

"Yeah!" Freja's voice thrummed with a passion that Sienna had never heard from her before. "The main entrance to the temple was connected to the main courtyard which technically was part of the palace. The Petitioner's Gate was a separate entrance that led directly out into the old city."

"So you know where it is?" Sienna asked, still marveling at the runes they'd sought for so long.

"Indeed!" Freja grinned.

"Are you ladies going to tell us what you're so excited about?" Hale broke in, looking bemused.

Sienna looked thoughtfully at Freja. They hadn't told anyone about their discovery, especially since it wasn't really discovered yet. As they still hadn't located the portal, it seemed a bit early to be telling anyone. "We've been working on an extra credit project for Ancient Runes," Sienna finally offered. "It's a sort of scavenger hunt of the old city. We hadn't been able to identify one of the gates, but Freja just found it."

Hale raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced, but any argument he might have made was drowned out by Lynne's loud congratulations. Indeed, now that the subject of the old city had been broached, the seventh years could talk of nothing else all day. They were a week away from visiting the ruins for the first time, and everyone was excited.

"I heard they used to fight griffins for sport!" Sienna overheard Carter explaining to Latharn later that day.

"I heard they had actual minotaurs living in their city."

"That's ridiculous, Fox. Everyone knows minotaurs are a Minoan thing. Atlantis was all about griffins."

Later Sienna heard Sil discussing the fall of the civilization with Kiki in a hushed voice. "I've always heard they disrespected the gods, but what does that mean?"

Having spent the last six years immersed in the dregs of Atlantean culture, Sienna wasn't quite as interested as her classmates. She was excited to see the ruins, of course, and would have enjoyed learning more about the civilization, but the millennia old gossip was not particularly interesting to her. She was far more concerned with the final Quidditch match of the Amazon season, Does versus Leopards.

If the Amazons won or lost by less than a hundred points, they would win the cup for the first time in a decade. If they lost by more than that, the Elysians would win. Sienna would be happy for her friends in that case, but the Elysians had won only two years before, right after Hale, Ash, and Latharn had joined the team. No, Sienna thought resolutely, it was the Amazons' turn to win.

When it finally arrived, the holiday was a welcome relief to the students, particularly the third, fifth, and seventh years who would be taking major exams in June. Sienna and her classmates took Saturday completely off, knowing they'd have time to get on with their homework after the weekend ended.

As they wiled away the day, Sienna was struck by the realization that this would be her last holiday at Atlantis. Not only that, she noticed with a jolt, it would be her last holiday as a student. When she graduated in June she'd be an adult, ready to start work. "Hale," she muttered softly, turning toward where he sat next to her. "What are you going to do after graduation?"

He pursed his lip thoughtfully. "I'm not sure." He answered at last. "It's hard to imagine graduating and leaving school. I might join the ministry, either in England or home in Denmark, or maybe Quidditch? I thought about coming back and teaching, but not all of us can be a prodigy in one of our subjects. What about you?"

Sienna sighed. "I'd love to come back here or to Hogwarts and teach someday, but I'll probably go into politics first. My dad works in the Department of International Magical Cooperation in England. I think that would be interesting."

Hale smiled at her. "You'd be good at that. You're smart and easy to get along with. Excellent traits in a politician."

Sienna laughed and blushed ever so slightly. "You know, if you do end up in England, you'll have to let me know. I can show you around."

Hale smiled again, but it was smaller and seemed odd. "Yeah, maybe. I'd like that."

He turned back to the others soon after, but Sienna frowned thoughtfully. She couldn't help remembering Freja's admission that she'd never thought Hale the type to settle down. Could she, Sienna, have been reading the signals wrong all year? They were together, sure, but was he even interested in a future with her? She hoped so. If she were honest with herself, Sienna couldn't really imagine a future without Hale now.

. . .

The next morning, nearly all the seventh years were in the dining hall bright and early for breakfast. It was hard to sleep late with the knowledge that you were about to visit one of the great historical mysteries of the earth.

Sienna and Freja had spent the evening before carefully combing their notes and finalizing their maps of the ruins. Sienna felt positively giddy as the seventh years lined up by college in the main hall.

"Good morning, students," Fontayre called from where she stood at the front of the hall with the college supervisors. Clannyte was chatting excitedly with Finnétte who was the Olympian supervisor while Fischer and Jones, the harried looking Political Science teacher and Trojan advisor, walked amongst their students. "A few ground rules while we are in the ruins.

"First, please stay with your college. The protective bubble will encompass the whole of the palace while we are in the ruins, but the city is still dangerous. Wandering off alone will not be tolerated.

"Second, I must ask that you avoid touching the ruins, especially the frescos. The city is very fragile and much history might be lost if you're not cautious.

"Finally, I ask that you keep an open mind. This is a learning experience. There are important lessons for each of you in these ruins. We are not going sightseeing. This is part of your studies. So please, maintain the proper decorum. Now if you will follow me."

Without another word, Fontayre turned and led the group out of the hall and out toward the edge of the dome. Sienna strode happily down the hill, flanked by Hale and Freja, who was grinning broadly again. Although Sienna expected the headmistress to stop at the edge of the shining shield, Fontayre merely waved her wand and continued walking, a smaller dome above her and around the students at the front of the procession.

Sienna gaped as they began walking into the open ocean. Each professor cast their own protective bubble as they stepped out of the normal bounds of the dome, creating a shining tunnel through which the students walked.

After almost an hour, Sienna saw a dark mass looming ahead of them. They had reached the city of Atlantis. The walls around the ancient city were massive and thick, clearly intended to withstand an onslaught. Within, Sienna found a maze of crumbling stone buildings, flakes of bright paint still visible here and there. Although a bit of vegetation was growing in places, there were no other signs of life. As they moved deeper into the city, Sienna saw a large rise in front of them with taller buildings looming over the city proper.

Freja pointed at the gargantuan white building opposite them. "That one's the temple. The main palace building is on the north side of the courtyard, but we can't see it from here. We'll circle around the palace and come up from the south."

Sienna nodded, staring in wonder at the city. It was remarkably well preserved after several thousand years. What had happened to this civilization, she wondered. What could have brought such a city to collapse?

After a few more minutes, the group turned a corner to see a massive set of stairs leading up to the plateau above. At the top, they found a grand open space, the courtyard Freja had mentioned. It had buildings on each of its three remaining sides. The large white temple stood to Sienna's left while a smaller but still impressive building stood to the right. Clannyte said it was a bureaucratic center. Looming over all of them was the palace proper, imposing despite the chipping and wear evident on the stone. It was into the palace that Fontayre led them.

Once all the students had crowded into the throne room, Fontayre raised a hand to quiet their chattering. "This is the throne room of the city of Atlantis, capital of the Atlantean Empire. On the walls you can see the founding of the city, their cooperation and conflict with the other powers of their day, and hints of the hubris that would be their downfall."

Sienna examined the walls as best she could. The bright frescoes, beautiful and detailed even after all this time, depicted scenes of trade and tyranny, war and worship. Freja raised her hand, hesitantly.

"Yes, Miss Melker?" Fontayre nodded encouragingly.

"Professor, the fresco behind the throne. What is it?"

All eyes turned to the throne and the looming painting behind it. A flowing form, indistinct but imposing, was surrounded by small Atlanteans holding laurels, goblets, and spears.

Fontayre smiled at Freja. "It's an ancient creature, considered by many to be a god of the ocean. There are very few of them left, but they still hold great power over the sea and the minds of mortals. Almost all cultures have recognized a version of it: the Greeks called it Cetos; the great Middle Eastern peoples knew it as the Leviathan; for the Norse it was the Kraken; the Japanese still today call it the _kamikaze_ , though they have long considered it a force of weather, rather than a being of its own."

Kiki had gasped loudly and was now looking in awe at the fresco. "You mean the _kamikaze_ wasn't a typhoon? That _thing_ was the _kamikaze_?"

Fontayre nodded as mutters broke out around the room. "The great sea gods, the Cetos, are generally ambivalent to humans as some of you may know. However, they were worshiped and respected by the Atlanteans, and in return aided the growing civilization. The benevolence of the Cetos allowed Atlantis to flourish beyond any other civilization of its time. Witches served as priestesses in the temple dedicated to the Cetos and were held in high esteem throughout the civilization.

"However, one foolish king decided that the blessings of the Cetos were not enough. He decided that Atlantis would never be the greatest civilization in history with only the blessing of the gods, since blessings can be revoked. Despite the warnings of the priestesses, this king set out with his warriors to capture one of the Cetos, intending, I believe, to become a god himself. His hubris was the downfall of his nation. The king was destroyed and the Cetos pulled the city to the seafloor, drowning thousands of people."

Tatiana Drenyiv looked a bit nauseous as she raised her hand. "If the Cetos destroyed the city, why did the school survive? And why is it sunk as well?"

Fontayre nodded approvingly. "I told you that the priestesses pleaded with the king to stay his hand. When he scorned their warning, the witches returned to the school where they'd been trained. The witches and wizards of the nation banded together in a great feat of magic to create a shield to protect themselves. However, they knew that the Cetos would not rest until the city was destroyed, so the wizards restricted their spell to the school itself. As the ground beneath city and school collapsed and brought the civilization to its seafloor resting place, the school and its occupants were protected."

"They didn't even try to save the people in the city?" Sienna asked, shocked and queasy at the thought.

Fontayre looked at her sharply. "The Headmaster at the time knew that his first duty was to the school and its students. Atlantis had brought the calamity on itself and there was no way to save the city without losing the school as well. He turned aside and chose not to hinder the Cetos. In return, they allowed the shield to stand and have never bothered the school.

"There is an important lesson in this story. Atlantis School of Sorcery is the oldest continually operating magical school in the world. It has survived the rise and fall of empires, the ever-changing tides of Muggle-Wizard relations, and even the wrath of the gods. Such a feat has only been possible because we have adhered to our roots. We protect ourselves and our students first. We do not allow ourselves to be drawn into the mundane conflicts of the outside world and we understand the limits of our own ability. Hubris was the downfall of Atlantis, Rome, and every other great empire. Our own narrow survival reminds us of the dangers of hubris and the value of humility."

Sienna stared at Fontayre, shocked. This was their great lesson? The greatest magical academy in existence wanted to make sure their students learned to keep their noses clean and avoid arrogance? This, she realized, was why the school was never mentioned in writings about any of the great wars fought by or against wizards over the centuries. Atlantis hadn't been present for any of them.

"Come on, Sienna. It's time." Freja was pulling her away from Hale and toward Clannyte as the rest of the students began to mill around the room and explore the palace. "Professor, might we have a word?"

Clannyte smiled at them and followed Freja out into the courtyard. "What can I help you girls with?"

Freja quickly explained about their mysterious gate and their careful preparation. Clannyte frowned. "Well, it's not part of the curriculum, and I certainly can't let you wander off, but I'm intrigued. I'll ask Armin to keep an eye on your classmates and then I'll come with you to see what you've discovered."

When she returned a few minutes later, Freja took the lead. They walked back down the staircase to the lower city, but rather than staying on the major road they'd entered by, Freja broke off down a narrow side-street. They had to walk single file, hemmed in by the decaying buildings to their left and the sheer cliff of the palace to their right. A few minutes later, Freja stopped in front of a narrow staircase leading up to the temple above.

"At the top is the Petitioner's Gate!" She announced, excited. "Come on, let's go!"

The three walked quickly up the stairs and found a large arch that must once have held an impressive wooden door that had long since rotted away. Inside was a small antechamber of the temple. "So if I remember right," Freja said thoughtfully, looking around and pulling a few scraps of parchment from the pocket of her robes to review. "The main temple is through the door ahead of us. The gateway that we're looking for is through this other door here." She gestured to a small door set to their left. Inside was an old storeroom, large amphorae still filling the room as they had for centuries.

Freja led them through a few storerooms after that one, then down a spiral staircase to a lower level. "The gate should be in the next chamber." She was bouncing on her toes as she walked. Indeed, the next room held nothing but a single arch, set against the far wall with stone behind it.

Clannyte threw out a hand to caution her students, before stepping toward the arch with her wand raised. She muttered a few words before turning back to them. "Well, it is definitely a portal somewhere, but it seems to be sealed. You girls have done well. You should be proud of yourselves. It's time we get back to your classmates though. We wouldn't want to be missed."

Sienna followed her hesitantly, glancing furtively at the arch as they left the room. When she and Freja rejoined the other students, who were now exploring the temple, they carefully surrounded themselves with chatting students so that they could speak without being overheard.

"I don't remember reading anything about the gate being sealed…" Sienna muttered.

"I do." Freja said thoughtfully. "I didn't understand what the text meant until now though. Remember the one rubbing that said only the priestesses could use the gate? Now that we know that the priestesses were witches, it stands to reason that there's some sort of magical way to open the gate, but I don't know what it would be. Unless," she stopped suddenly.

"Unless what?" Sienna scowled, impatient.

"Remember the prayer for safe passage from the gods?"

Sienna frowned, trying to recall that particular reading. "I think so."

"What if it's an incantation to open the gate!?"

Sienna blinked at the grinning Freja. "You're mental."

Freja deflated a bit. "Why do you say that?"

"For one thing, I've never heard of an incantation that long. For another, anyone would be able to read it."

Freja rubbed her arm absently. "Well, incantations can certainly be that long. Many ancient and non-Western magic styles use chant incantations rather than simple words and phrases. The prayer would fit well with those styles. And a chanted incantation is like any other spell in that you have to practice and perform the magic properly for the words to mean anything."

Sienna frowned. "Then I guess it could be an incantation. It's too bad we won't ever know. Even if we got back to the room, I definitely couldn't recite the prayer from memory."

Freja's eyes widened and she pulled the fragments of parchment from her pockets again. She rifled through them for a while before grinning. "Well, as it turns out, I _can_ recite the prayer."

Sienna took the parchment immediately and sure enough the prayer was scribbled on it. "Why did you even bring this?" She laughed

Freja shrugged. "I brought all my notes on the city, just in case. But I'd still have to get back there to see if it works."

They looked at each other for a moment. "There's no way we can both go," Sienna said finally. "But you might be able to sneak out. Do you think you can find the Petitioner's Gate from inside the temple?"

Freja nodded. "I've seen a couple diagrams of the building. I should be able to sneak back there. If anyone asks, tell them I wanted to check something in the residences. There are a lot of small rooms at the north side of the temple. It would be easy to miss someone in there so they won't be able to confirm I wasn't there."

Sienna agreed, and Freja vanished into the crowd. Knowing it would be suspicious to stand there alone while waiting for her, Sienna looked around and saw Ash and Hale nearby, admiring a mural of the priestesses worshiping. She joined them.

"Did you and Freja finally get tired of your scavenger hunt?" Hale chuckled, looping an arm around her waist.

"We found everything we were looking for." Sienna forced a smile. Her mind was on Freja. Would the spell work?

"Good. I was starting to think I'd have to go ask her for my girlfriend back." Hale laughed.

"You've got no idea, Hale. This is what it was like all the time when I dated Freja fifth year. I didn't even feel like I had a girlfriend most days." Ash grinned.

Hale laughed harder. "I'd totally forgotten about that. Those were an interesting couple of months, eh?"

Ash laughed too. "Yeah they were. It was right before O.W.L.s too so even when I caught a glimpse of her she was buried in papers. Are you ok, Sienna? You look distracted."

Ash's voice jerked Sienna out of her thoughts abruptly. "Yeah. It's just sort of creepy you know? Standing here where so many people died."

Ash and Hale fell silent, looking around slowly. "Yeah, it is." Hale finally muttered. "I'll be glad to go back to the school."

As if in answer to his request, Fischer walked over to them at that moment. "We're assembling in the courtyard for a final count before we return to the school. Please make your way outside now."

Sienna shot a hurried glance at the south wall of the room. She hadn't seen Freja return yet. Reluctantly, she followed Hale and Ash from the room and joined the other Amazons in front of Clannyte. "Sienna, have you seen Freja? She's the only Amazon we're missing."

"Er," Sienna faltered, trying to remember the cover story. "She said something about wanting to check the residences? I'm not really sure."

Clannyte sighed, said a few words to Fischer, and walked back into the temple. Sienna hoped desperately that Freja would make it out before their teacher had checked all the rooms.

When Clannyte returned with Freja a few minutes later, the blonde wore a barely concealed grin. They made eye contact and Freja nodded once.

Sienna felt her insides soar. It had worked. They'd found the gate and discovered how to open it. This could be one of the greatest discoveries in Atlantean history in generations.

"Well, you went from pensive and distracted to practically floating. Are you that happy to be out of the place?" Hale nudged her in the ribs as they walked hand in hand back to the school.

"No, no, nothing like that. Freja and I will get full credit for Ancient Runes though. I still can't believe we found it…" Sienna trailed off, overwhelmed by the implications of their success. There was a working portal from Atlantis to the continent and they'd discovered it.

Hale gave her an inscrutable look, like he was trying to read her mind. She just grinned at him. Finally he rolled his eyes and moved his arm to wrap around her shoulders.

Sienna didn't get a chance to speak to Freja until they arrived back at the palace, but once there, she couldn't resist dragging Freja into an empty classroom. As soon as the door closed Freja launched into a description of the find. The gateway still worked and they'd been correct about the incantation. She had popped through the gate to make sure it worked, but she hadn't had time to see anything more than a dark, empty cave on the other side.

"I can't believe we found it," Sienna breathed.

Freja nodded aggressively. "We'll have to tell Drenyiv. She'll be so interested."

Sienna frowned. "Maybe we should wait until graduation. We can write up a paper or something to turn in with our exam. I'd sort of like to make sure they don't seal up the portal while we're here you know? Just in case."

"Just in case of what?" Freja laughed. "No one's ever needed to leave mid-semester before."

Sienna shrugged. "There's a war outside, so you never know what will happen. Besides, the easiest way to die in a fire is if you're locked in the building. I feel better knowing there's an escape route."

Freja waved a hand, dismissing the thought. "I think you're paranoid. It doesn't matter much though does it? We can't get there alone and if the teachers sealed the portal, they'd know the way to open it again."

"I still think we should wait."

Freja eyed her for a bit then shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. As long as I get to include it when I publish my next paper on Atlantean history this summer."

Sienna agreed, and the two walked back to the dormitory, passing Hale and Ash who were headed to the Quidditch pitch. They ended up grabbing their own brooms and heading outside to join the boys for some practice.

The next day found the ten seventh years huddled in a room in the library, working desperately to finish the homework they'd put off. "Why'd we take Saturday off? Whose idea was that?" Ash groaned theatrically.

"Just shut up, Rene," Carter growled, angrily flipping through her textbook. "Your whining isn't helping anyone study."

Sienna sighed as the two began bickering. Her essay on the history of animagi and the development of the spell was hard enough without having to listen to the two of them. She leaned closer to her book, wishing she could block out the noise.

"Guys. Quiet." Sil didn't yell but his voice carried clearly over Carter and Ash. Everyone looked up at him, stunned. "Sienna, what did you put about the discovery of the role of the mandrake leaf?"

Sienna blinked at him once before sliding her parchment across the table. He took a quick look, thanked her, and returned to his own paper. Sienna watched him for a moment then returned to her own essay, grateful for the continuing silence.

"Well, I for one," Lynne said quietly from across the table. "Will remember that the only one who can stop Carter and Ash from rowing is Sil."

A few chuckles broke out before Sil looked up at them again, his face stern. Everyone quickly returned their attention to their work. Sil kept them all focused and quiet until late that evening, when he got up to head to bed. The others began chatting as soon as he left.

"You know, I never would have expected Sil to have that kind of influence over the group," Sienna told Hale quietly.

Hale laughed softly. "Yeah, we don't see it very often. He doesn't usually care what we're up to. But every so often, he'll sort of snap. How much work do you have left?"

Sienna sighed. "I finally finished the Transfiguration assignment, so I just have the rest of the homework left. You?"

"About the same. Want to go work in the courtyard? It's quieter."

Sienna nodded and they packed their books quickly. Before they could leave the room, Ash called cheerily from behind them, "Be careful you don't wake Sil! He won't be amused!"

Hale laughed while Sienna bolted, her face red. She'd made it out of the library before he caught up to her. "Whoa, slow down. What's the hurry?"

Sienna didn't look up at him, but paused, considering her words carefully. "How come it doesn't bother you when he says things like that?"

Hale snorted. "Ash doesn't mean anything by it. He's just messing with you."

"I know," Sienna sighed. "But it still bothers me. He just has to walk around making his stupid little insinuations all the time."

"So? Everyone here knows what Ash is like. They either think we're sneaking off to my dormitory or they don't. Ash's jabs aren't going to sway them one way or the other."

Sienna whirled to face him. "And the fact that they might think that doesn't bother you?"

He gave his signature eyebrow quirk. "Why should it?" She gaped at him and he smiled. "Would you feel better if I actually sneaked you into the dormitory some time?"

Sienna felt her face go beet red before she spun and stalked off to the courtyard. Hale was laughing behind her as he hurried to keep up. "I have to admit, I see the appeal for Ash. I'd make a lot more of those jokes if I wasn't trying to keep you from ditching me."

Sienna gave a loud harrumph but didn't make any other reply. However, she had reached the courtyard now, so there was nowhere further away to stalk. Instead, she sat down under her tree and glared as Hale strolled over and settled himself beside her.

"Now, what do you want to work on? We've got that poly-sci essay. Want to start on that?" Sienna nodded and began pulling out the necessary books. "Incidentally," Hale had placed a hand on hers to pause her bustling. She looked up at him expectantly. "I don't mind their comments because I'd be happy if they were right and I'm perfectly content even when they're not. I'm quite happy as things are even if we don't indulge in secret rendezvous."

Sienna flushed again and her mouth moved soundlessly for a moment. "Well, I'm glad you're happy." She said finally, not meeting his eye. He laughed and leaned in to kiss her.

When Sienna instinctively leaned in for another, he gently pushed her back, smirking. "We have an essay to work on. Besides, if you're bothered by Ash's comments, we really shouldn't encourage him."

Sienna was struck by a variety of emotions: disappointment, embarrassment, annoyance. Rather than voice any of them, she sniffed loudly and turned to her books. Hale laughed at her again before beginning his own essay.

When the night ended, Hale stood staring at Sienna as she waited for him to kiss her goodnight. It took her a minute to realize he was waiting for her to initiate. She felt her face heat up and rose on her tiptoes to place a feather-light kiss on his mouth before slipping into the Amazon common room. She could hear Hale's chuckle as the door closed behind her. That damned boy will be the death of me, she thought sullenly as she made her way to bed.

. . .

The last day of the holiday arrived too quickly. Lucky for Sienna, she had very nearly finished her holiday assignments. It was just after lunch when she closed her last textbook and gave a great sigh of relief.

"Are you done?" Carter demanded, looking up from her Quidditch Tactics and History essay. Sienna nodded, smiling despite herself. Carter rolled her eyes and returned to her work. Sienna packed her bags and turned to leave the room.

"I'll be done in an hour or two. See you then?" Hale said softly as she passed him.

She flashed him a thumbs up and left the library, elated that she had almost half the day to relax. She pondered what she should do. She hadn't talked to Harry in a few weeks, not since he'd told her about Dobby and their close call at Malfoy Manor. She decided that she'd speak to him briefly before doing anything else.

When she reached her secluded cave, Sienna cast her protective enchantments and called Harry's name into the mirror. It took a moment for the mirror to respond. Finally it showed a tired looking Harry somewhere outside, for she could see the cloudy sky behind him.

"Hi Harry, what's going on?"

"Hey Sienna. Sorry, I need to get a bit further from the house. It's hard to have a private conversation in Shell Cottage."

Sienna nodded and waited until Harry had found a place to settle in. "How are you? I know you were really upset about Dobby last we talked. I'm so sorry I couldn't have been there. I'll miss Dobby."

Harry gave a small half smile. "I know you will. He saved our lives too."

"I know. And that's exactly how he would have wanted to go—saving you, not because he had to, but because you gave him the life he'd always wanted."

Harry was quiet, and Sienna didn't want to break the silence. "Thank you." He said finally, a watery smile on his face. Sienna nodded, not quite trusting herself to speak.

They sat in companionable silence for several minutes, both thinking of the house elf who'd been a part of their lives for so many years. Finally, Sienna spoke again. "What are you three going to do now? After all, you can't stay at Shell Cottage forever, right?"

Harry looked grim. "We're going to break into Gringotts."

Sienna yelped.

He looked amused and began explaining how terrified Bellatrix had been when she thought they'd been in her vault and Harry's theory that there was a Horcrux in there. He told her about Griphook and his plan to use Griphook to get in and then postpone his payment. Sienna groaned loudly. "Harry, goblins do not like being played. You'll get yourself hurt if you're not careful."

Harry laughed humorlessly. "I'm used to getting hurt. If I can destroy another Horcrux, it'll be worth it."

Sienna sighed. "Just be careful. Promise me?"

Harry smiled at her. "Of course I'll be careful. I always am. I need to get back though. We'll be doing the Gringotts thing in a week or two. I'll let you know how it goes." She nodded and said goodbye. The mirror went blank.

Sienna removed her charms and moved languorously down to the lakeside. She pulled her novel out of her bag and began to read, savoring the feel of the outside air. She soon found herself drawn into the desert planet and the tale of a boy who'd lost his inheritance and family in one day. As he began to secure a new home for himself among the planet natives, Sienna found herself disturbed from the book.

She stared blankly for a bit before understanding what had startled her. Hale was sitting just behind her, gently massaging her shoulders as she read. She jumped away from him, stuttering. "Wh-what are you doing? How long have you been here?"

He laughed. "Not very long. You seemed pretty engrossed so I thought I'd let you read."

Sienna tried desperately to slow her racing heart. "You scared me. Please don't do that again."

"Your back is really tight. I bet it would feel better if you let me work on it." He moved toward her again.

"Er, maybe later." Sienna ducked her head to hide the blush she was sure would be stealing across her face.

Hale smiled kindly. "It's up to you. Come on, I've got a surprise for you."

Sienna blinked at him as he helped her to her feet. "A surprise? Like what?"

Hale snickered. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you. Now, close your eyes. No peeking."

Sienna frowned, but closed her eyes obediently and allowed Hale to lead her. She felt the slope beneath her and knew they were climbing back to her cave. Why was he taking her there?

"Open," he whispered in her ear, his breath warm on her skin. She shuddered a bit as she blinked her eyes open. In front of her was her cave, complete with a comfortable looking blanket, some pillows, and a full picnic dinner. Candles were lit throughout the small cave and brightened the place significantly.

"When did you do this?" She asked, thunderstruck. She'd just been up here a few minutes before, right?

"You are oblivious to what's going on around you when you're reading. I must have walked past you three or four times getting this all set up. You never even moved." He grinned at her.

Sienna shook her head, torn between her awe at Hale's surprise and annoyance with herself for not noticing anything. Hale led her forward slowly and let her sink down onto the blanket. Due to some carefully placed magic of some sort, she couldn't feel the stone beneath her at all. It was like sitting on a comfortable bed, rather than the floor of a cave. Smiling, Sienna flopped down on her back.

"I'm glad you like it," Hale laughed. "Mead?"

Sienna looked up at him surprised. "Where did you get that?"

He smiled enigmatically. "I can manage all sorts of things. You'd be shocked."

Sienna waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't. Rolling her eyes, she took the offered mead and took a sip. It was delicious. She finished the glass quickly and began to fill a plate with food. Seeing that Hale was still standing, Sienna scooted toward one side of the blanket and gestured for him to join her. He smirked at her before sitting and pouring his own glass of mead. He refilled hers as well.

"So, you like your surprise?" He sounded smug, but Sienna couldn't make herself be irritated. This whole surprise was so thoughtful and nice, she didn't care if he was smug about it. She kissed him in answer.

When she pulled back, he was grinning. "I'll take that as a yes. I should have set up a private picnic a long time ago I guess." Sienna laughed and they turned back to their food.

When their dinner had been reduced to crumbs and Sienna finished her third glass of mead, Hale renewed his offer of a back rub. Feeling warm and pleasantly light, Sienna settled herself on the ground next to Hale. His hands were soothing as he rubbed the stress and worry from Sienna's back. She sighed happily, feeling the week's cares melt away. "Thank you," she mumbled into her pillow.

Hale leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss into her hair. "Anything for you."

She smiled and let herself relax fully, her fuzzy thoughts slowly retreating and leaving her in darkness.


	12. The Quidditch Final

When Sienna snuck into the Amazon dormitory the next morning, she was desperately hoping everyone would still be asleep. For once, however, her internal alarm had failed her. All four girls were awake and stopped their conversation at once when Sienna slipped down the stairs.

"Where were _you_?!" Carter shouted, jumping up. Her words may have been brusque, but her tone and eyes betrayed a sort of mania.

Sienna stuttered, trying to come up with a believable excuse. "I… er… well… I was in the library… and I, er, fell asleep."

Freja rolled her eyes and even Kiki laughed at the absurdity of the excuse. "Sienna, _mon amie_ ," Lynne laughed. "The boys will tell us at breakfast if you were in their dormitory. There is no reason to lie."

Sienna flushed. She should have known that's what they thought had happened. "That's not… I wasn't in their dormitory!"

The group laughed. Sienna turned from them and began getting ready, praying they'd get distracted by something later in the day. Maybe the weekend's Quidditch match would manage to divert attention from her mortification.

Sienna had to endure the teasing of the other girls all the way up to breakfast. However, when they arrived, they found another round of teasing already in progress. "Blimey, Lamont. If you found a way into the Amazon dormitory you've got to tell us. Even Fontayre couldn't get a bloke in!" Hale only smirked and turned back to his kippers.

Carter laughed as she sat down next to her boyfriend. "Oh come off it, Fox. Lamont is good and all but he'd never get past Freja."

The Elysians looked over at her quizzically. "You mean, he wasn't in your dormitory?" Lucero asked softly, looking between the girls and Hale slowly.

Lynne folded herself next to him and frowned. "Of course not. We assumed Sienna was in yours when she never came down for bed." Sienna stared fixedly at her plate, ignoring the eight pairs of eyes now watching her and Hale.

"Well?" Ash drawled from her other side, leaning dramatically on her shoulder before dropping his voice. "If you tell me I promise I won't gossip."

"I fell asleep in the library." Sienna repeated stubbornly. Hale had the nerve to join in the chorus of chuckles. She glared at him before returning to her food.

"Sure you did." Ash had regained his breath. "No really," He added in response to Sienna's glare. "I'd believe you guys ended up asleep in the library. A good round really takes it out of you."

Sienna flushed crimson. "We didn't… Ash… Nothing happened!"

Hale put a gentle hand on her back and began rubbing at the knot he'd found the night before behind her shoulder blade. Unwillingly, Sienna found her body relaxing at his touch. Her eyes cleared from the pleasure enough to notice the wide grin on Ash's face.

Sienna leapt up, swatting Hale's hand away in the process. "I hate you all," she muttered as she stormed out of the dining hall. The promise of a Potions lesson between Ash and Hale was torturous, so Sienna instead made her way back to the Amazon common room, and then to the little garden off the seventh years' dormitory.

"Sienna?" Lynne's voice was quiet as it broke through her reverie.

"What do you want, Lynne?"

She hesitated a moment. "Are you alright? I am sorry if we pushed too hard. We did not mean to offend you."

Sienna grimaced. "Hale and I aren't… We don't… _Nothing happened_." She could feel hot tears springing to her eyes, and she wiped them away furiously.

Lynne settled on the bench beside her. "I believe you. You know that none of us really care one way or the other, yes? You and Hale can do whatever you want, or nothing. It is none of our business." Sienna grunted in agreement. "What's really wrong, _mon amie_?"

Sienna stared at Lynne for a moment, then sighed. "I wish Hale were more like Lucero." Lynne quirked an eyebrow, but stayed silent. "Remember the night after the ball when everyone was asking where you two had gotten to? Lucero defended you. He didn't have to, but he did. Even when nothing is happening, Hale just eggs Ash and King on. He thinks it's funny when I get flustered."

Lynne sighed sadly. "You may have heard this, but we were all rather surprised when Hale showed a real interest in you. He's never really cared for someone, at least not that we've witnessed. Maybe he does not understand what he is doing to you? It is hard to learn to care for someone else."

Sienna frowned. She'd been caring about and for people since she had taken a major hand raising her sisters when she was seven. She'd loved Harry and tried to protect him ever since he reappeared from the maze fourth year. What was it like for people who had never learned how to protect, how to love?

"Regardless," Lynne added, standing suddenly. "Their silly jokes should not stand in the way of your education. You can still make it to class if you leave now. Then you can beat Elysium this weekend in Quidditch and no one will be able to laugh at you."

Sienna actually smiled. "Thanks Lynne."

. . .

The next few days felt long to Sienna. By the end of the week, however, either her classmates had grown bored or someone (probably Lynne) had asked them to lay off Sienna. By Friday, only Ash and Carter were making jokes at her expense, and even those were infrequent. Instead, conversation had turned to the upcoming match. No one currently attending Atlantis could remember the last time Elysium and Amazonia had played with the Cup hanging in the balance.

Sienna was pleasantly surprised to find that the animosity that would have accompanied such an event at Hogwarts was by and large absent here. Both teams were eager to win, but there was no cursing in the halls or vindictive professors playing favorites. Instead, the two teams were engaged in a near-constant verbal spar. Carter and Latharn had nearly broken up on Wednesday over a dispute over which team had the better Seeker. Ash and Hale had begun loudly discussing the failings of the Amazon team over meals and even Lynne was teasing Lucero about his Keeping skills.

Not everyone dealt with the nerves aloud though. Freja was barely paying attention in class as she reread Carter's copy of _World Cup Winning Quidditch Tactics from Europe and Asia_ while Sienna herself was putting off homework assignments to fly each evening, regardless of whether the team had practice.

By Saturday, both colleges were ready for the game to be over and life to go back to normal. The Amazon team huddled in the locker room after breakfast to review their strategy one final time. "This is the match that decides our legacy," Carter proclaimed dramatically. "If we win, we will be remembered as one of the best Amazon teams of the century. Amazonia, Elysium, and Olympia all boast some of their best players of the decade and we already beat Olympia. If we play half as well as we did in that game, Elysium won't have a prayer."

Abike cheered. Hyeki looked as sick as Sienna felt. Zyra and Freja were, as usual, impassive. Johanna nodded along with Carter's words. "A couple things to keep in mind: Zane and Fox have excellent coordination. Zyra, you and Johanna are going to need to be on your toes or they will trip you up. We have to avoid injuries, so be careful of Bludgers. Chasers," Carter turned toward Sienna, who looked up reluctantly. "Lucero is good, but not nearly as good as Olympia's Hughes. If you guys can get a good lead and keep it, that'll go a long way. Rene won't risk getting the Snitch if we're more than fifty points ahead. That leaves an open field for me. Freja," She turned to the blonde now. "The more you can block, the better. I don't need to tell you that Lamont is the best of their Chasers, but don't forget that Argyris is cocky and will try for shots he can't make. I watched Singh in the last match and he wasn't bad, but he's still pretty new."

A whistle sounded outside. "That's our cue to get out there. Alright ladies. The time for words has passed. It's time for some action. May the best women win!"

The team trooped out onto the field, squaring off against the sapphire-robed Elysian team. Sienna was playing opposite Hale, who smiled at her as they lined up. She couldn't quite bring a smile to her own lips.

The whistle blew again and the two teams soared into the air. When Professor White threw the Quaffle, Hale flew directly at Sienna, who had to drop to avoid him.

"Ooh a tricky play by Lamont distracts Sinclair and allows Singh to snatch the Quaffle. He's off, passes to Argyris, to Lamont, to Argyris."

Sienna followed them, watching as Hyeki shot between Argyris and Singh to intercept the Quaffle. She threw it to Sienna, who caught it and shot back toward the Elysian goalposts. She saw a flash of blue beside her and turned her broom up to avoid the oncoming leopard. A flash of teal behind her caught Sienna's attention and she tossed the Quaffle to Abike who sped toward Lucero.

"Lenu has the Quaffle. She passes to Song. Back to Sinclair now. And Sinclair scores! Ten to zero for Amazonia!"

Sienna sped back up the pitch following Jai, but had to dodge a Bludger that Latharn sent careening toward her. Ahead, Argyris had taken the Quaffle and was nearing the goalposts.

"And a nice save from Melker! That girl could play the pros if she wanted. She's passed the Quaffle to Song."

The Amazon Chasers were in top form. They'd scored another two goals before Hale managed to put Elysium on the board.

"Wait, what's that? It looks like Amazon captain Glass has seen the Snitch because there she goes! Oh and she's blocked by Elysian Seeker Calder who swerved in front of her."

Sienna frowned as she chased after Hale. Carter had been right. Ash was going to do everything in his power to keep her away from the Snitch. The Elysians needed to win by at least a hundred to win the Cup.

However, as the minutes past, the Amazon team continued to pull further ahead. They had increased their lead to sixty points when Latharn called a time out. Carter pulled the girls into a huddle at the far end of the pitch.

"We're doing well. Our primary goal right now is to maintain our lead and make sure no one gets injured. Zyra, Johanna, you guys are the most important people on the team right now. Keep those Bludgers away from our team. Chasers, keep up the good work. You too, Freja. I'll try to end this as soon as I can."

Sienna nodded and returned to the air, ready for the game to resume. As the Elysians returned to their positions, Sienna noticed that the normally unflappable team had turned dour. Even Ash had replaced his usual smirk with a look of fierce determination. Perhaps the Cup wasn't in the bag yet.

Sure enough, within the first minute, the Elysians had scored again. Sienna didn't know what Latharn had said, but he'd rallied his team and they were fighting again. She shot off after Abike, her own resolve renewed.

"Lenu passes to Song who passes to Sinclair. Sinclair reverses to Song who is approaching the goalposts. Keeper Alvar dives and… HE SAVES IT!"

Sienna swore as she spun around to follow Argyris who had taken the Quaffle from Lucero. She reached him just as he threw the ball behind him to Jai.

"Ooh, that looked like it hurt. Nice Bludger from Vogel forces Singh to drop the Quaffle. It's recovered by Song."

Sienna received the pass from Hyeki and sped toward Lucero. She feinted left and scored.

"Another goal for Sinclair. Lamont has the Quaffle and is racing back up the pitch."

Sienna was starting to get tired. They'd been playing for an hour now and Amazonia was narrowly maintaining their lead. She got a glimpse of Carter, still circling high above their heads.

"Calder is diving! Has he seen the Snitch?"

Sienna passed to Abike and chanced a look toward Ash. He was diving, but Sienna couldn't see any sign of the Snitch.

"Glass isn't following so she must think it's a feint. But there, now she's headed in the opposite direction toward the Elysian goalpost. King shoots a Bludger at her but she dodges. Amazon captain Glass has caught the Snitch! AMAZON WINS THE ATLANTIS QUIDDITCH CUP!"

A great cry went up from the stands. Sienna hung motionless in the air for a moment before pelting toward a sobbing Carter. The team collided, most of them in tears. Even the seventh years had never witnessed an Amazon Cup victory, and certainly no one had really expected to win it when the year began, but here they were. Sienna cried with them. Ravenclaw had never won the cup in her time on the team. Now, half a world away, she was celebrating with her new team and her new friends over a school Cup victory.

When the team reached the ground, they found the whole school crowded on the pitch to celebrate. The Amazons ushered their still sobbing team back to the common room, Carter carried on their shoulders.

The common room had been draped in teal and bronze and someone had created a butterbeer fountain in the middle of the room. Sienna had moved off to the side a bit, still uncomfortable being in the center of the crowd. She saw Lynne enter from the corridor and moved toward her.

"Congratulations!" Lynne squealed as soon as she caught sight of Sienna. "You guys played really well!"

Sienna grinned. "Thanks! Have you seen the guys? Is Lucero alright?"

Lynne's smile faltered. "He is upset, but he will be alright. Elysium had a good team. I know King wanted to win for his final year. But, then again, so did Carter." Lynne turned to look at Carter who was now levitating a stream of butterbeer directly into her mouth. "She and Freja built this team. They both made the team their fourth year and have carefully trained each person now on it. I am so happy for them."

Sienna nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

The celebration lasted late into the night. Clannyte came in a few times, first to celebrate with her college, and later to implore them to sleep. When the Amazons finally retreated back to their dormitories, Sienna gratefully slid into her soft four-poster bed. Even as she tried to sleep, she found that her smile never faltered. This had truly been one of the best days of her life. She closed her eyes, exhausted from the celebration.

. . .

The next week passed quickly. Even though there was technically one more Quidditch match for the year, neither Olympia nor Troy could win the Cup. As a result, all the teams had decided to relax a bit. Sienna was grateful for the reprieve from practices—she needed the time to study for her N.E.W.T.s. It was the last week of April and exams would be starting in June.

Sienna had been worried about the Elysians, but her classmates seemed to recover their spirits quickly. The morning after the match, Hale had given her a breathtaking kiss before congratulating her on her flying. She returned the compliment in kind. Lucero and Latharn took a little longer to recover from their disappointment, but by mid-week they were fine. Ash, as usual, didn't seem affected at all.

Although her spirits were already high, something happened on Thursday to spike them further. During their swordplay class, Sienna managed to disarm Hale. As his sword fell to the earth floor, Sienna and Hale stared at each other, eyes wide. Finally, she let out a whoop and threw her arms around his neck. They both laughed until Gladinor started grouching at them for not taking class seriously. Even he wore a smile though as he congratulated Sienna on her progress.

As she walked back to the palace with Hale for lunch, he grabbed her hand lightly. "You know, I was thinking we could hang out tonight."

"You mean like we do every night?" Sienna laughed.

"Well, we could celebrate your win over the weekend or your successful passing of your combat class."

"What's with you and celebrating?" She laughed again. "Not that I mind, but you always seem to be looking for an excuse."

Hale shrugged. "There aren't enough things in life worth celebrating. I try to take advantage whenever I can."

Sienna took a closer look at him. He seemed fine. There was no unusual tightness to his face or other obvious tell of stress. But it seemed odd to Sienna that he would be so introspective. Finally she shrugged. "We can celebrate if you want. There's not a lot to do here, but we'll find something. Do you want the others around or just us?"

Hale frowned, thoughtful. "We can hang out with them and then ditch them."

Sienna chuckled, but agreed. When they broached the subject to their classmates at lunch, Lynne squealed. "I think the idea is superb! We need a break from studying, anyway."

Carter looked almost pensive as she glanced over at Latharn. "Hey, Fox, do you still have that Muggle projector you smuggled in a couple years ago? We could try to watch one of the Muggle movies I brought. They're not bad."

Latharn grinned. "I bet we can rig the projector to play them. Where do you want us to watch?"

"How about our dormitory?" Ash offered. "The girls can get in and we can either conjure extra chairs or sit two to a bed. We should have plenty of space."

As the others put the finishing touches on the plan, Sienna almost jumped when she felt Hale's warm breath on her ear. "Well damn, there goes my plan of smuggling you down to the dormitory while the others were distracted."

Sienna felt her face burn hot and quickly hid behind the textbook she'd been perusing over the meal. She could see Hale smirking next to her. She groaned. That boy really would be the death of her.

Although the idea of using the Elysian dormitory to watch the movie had sounded perfectly sane originally, Sienna was growing less and less sure as the afternoon passed. She had never been in any boys' dormitory, either at Hogwarts or here. The idea of sitting in a darkened dorm with her boyfriend, perhaps even sitting on his bed, was making her stomach twist itself into knots.

Apparently she'd been frowning at her notes while she thought, because Hale nudged her gently about halfway through Political Science. "Are you alright?"

She forced a smile. She wasn't sure she wanted to admit how nervous she was about the evening, especially since it struck her as unwarranted. It's not like anything would be happening after all. The whole class would be in the dormitory together. That thought gave her the nerve to whisper back, "Yeah, I'm fine. I wonder what movie Carter's got for us."

Class had barely ended when she got the answer to her question. Carter and Latharn were waiting for them just outside the classroom and joined them in their walk down to the entrance hall. "I have the best idea for a movie! It's this great film that came out a few years ago about a bunch of scientists bringing dinosaurs back to life!"

Sienna blinked at her. "Dinosaurs?" Carter grinned at her, nodding. "Sorry, what?"

Carter's grin melted off her face, replaced by a look of confusion. "Don't you know what dinosaurs are?"

Sienna turned to Hale and Lucero, who appeared equally confused. "Er, no, sorry Carter. Should I know?"

Carter gaped at them. "Have you never been to a museum?" Hale protested that of course they'd been to museums. "Then you know, the giant skeletons of ancient creatures that wandered the earth? Like giant reptiles?"

"Giant reptiles? Are we watching Godzilla?" Kiki laughed as she, Ash, and Freja walked out of a nearby classroom and fell into step beside them.

Carter laughed. "Nah, Godzilla is a little forced to me. But you guys know what dinosaurs are, don't you?"

The three shook their heads slowly and Carter groaned. "How come none of you know about dinosaurs? They're a part of pre-human history."

Sienna laughed. "Carter, maybe it's because none of us were raised around Muggles."

"I mean, yeah, but how lame that wizards don't teach their kids about science. I had a bunch of books about dinosaurs growing up. I loved them! Muggles have fancy dig sites where they look for the old dinosaur bones."

Sienna grimaced. "Why do you sound so happy about that? It sounds pretty gross to me to go looking for skeletons."

Carter shook her head, looking offended. "You guys are so lame. By the end of this movie tonight, I swear you'll understand how cool dinosaurs are."

Personally, Sienna wasn't sure why they couldn't watch a movie the rest of the group would understand, but Carter seemed to have made up her mind. Even Latharn couldn't convince her to reconsider her movie choice.

An hour later found Sienna standing with the other Amazons outside a floor-to-ceiling painting of a phantom boatman with three large fields clearly visible on the opposite side of a river. As they waited for one of the guys to come let them in—typical of the Elysians to be late—Sienna examined the painting more closely. The first field was fiery, the second dark and crowded, and the third bright and covered with beautiful trees.

"Hey ladies! Enjoying the view?" Hale and Ash had just come around the corner, laden with large bags of food. "Charon, can you let us in? Password is 'purgatory.'" The boatman nodded, and the painting swung open revealing a hidden door.

Sienna frowned at Hale. "Was that a painting of Hades?"

Hale nodded. "They weren't very creative when they decided to put the Elysian common room behind a painting of the fields of the dead. Elysium is the bright one, so we've got that going for us at least."

Sienna laughed and followed her classmates into their common room. It looked distinctly different from the Amazon one. In fact, it reminded Sienna rather poignantly of Ravenclaw tower. It was a large circular room with a sort of modern, elegant feel. The walls and ceiling were painted a velvety blue with glimmering stars, and large bookshelves ran around the walls. Around the room, four sets of stairs descended to the dormitories. Hale and Ash led the girls to the first staircase on their right. Sienna noticed a few of the younger boys in the common room were watching them, but no one appeared too surprised. Jai waved at her. She waved back before losing sight of the common room.

When they entered the seventh year dormitory, they found the other Elysians waiting. The beds were all lined up on one wall, and a large white sheet had been hung on the facing wall. The room was dark so that you could see a large blue square of light projected onto the sheet. Hale and Ash began to set out the food on a table they'd conjured next to the square, while Lynne and Carter walked over to the beds where Lucero and Latharn were already lounging.

Sienna looked over at Freja and Kiki. "Where are you sitting?"

Freja shrugged, but Ash answered from the table. "I figure either they can sit with me and Sil, or I'll conjure a chair and they can sit on my bed."

As Freja and Kiki lowered their voices to discuss, Sienna felt her face go a bit warm. That meant everyone was expecting her to sit with Hale, on his bed, in the dark. He'd be offended if she tried to conjure a chair, wouldn't he? Yeah probably.

"Sienna? Are you coming?" Hale patted the bed next to where he had sat down with a large bowl of popcorn. Sienna swallowed hard, it was now or never. She settled herself gracefully on the edge of the bed, watching him out of the corner of her eye. He snorted and rolled his eyes before tugging her close and settling an arm around her shoulders.

Sienna tried desperately to pay attention to the movie, but frankly she couldn't appreciate the cool factor of living dinosaurs since she hadn't ever heard of the creatures before. Besides that, Hale was very close to her and kept surreptitiously feeding her popcorn. Every time she took a proffered piece, she could feel her face growing red again.

When he leaned down to speak quietly in her ear, Sienna thought she'd jump right out of her skin. "Are you sure you're ok? You seem uncomfortable." Sienna nodded jerkily, still trying to slow her heartbeat after he surprised her. He sighed next to her. "Please don't lie to me. What's wrong?"

He squeezed her tighter to him. Sienna could feel herself trembling. Hale put down the popcorn and turned her face to his. He kissed her gently and then pulled back, his hand still resting lightly on her cheek. "You can relax you know. I'm not going to try anything untoward. I just want to spend this evening with you. We're supposed to be celebrating remember?"

Sienna nodded, breathing deeply. "I know. I'm just really bad at all this."

Hale smirked at her and kissed her again. "I knew what I was getting into. But seriously, try to relax. You're making me anxious with all your trembling and jumping. Here," she felt his hands guiding her to sit in front of him. "I'll keep working those knots out of your back, alright?"

Even as he said it, Sienna felt his nimble fingers working steadily at the tight muscles of her shoulders. She relaxed into his touch and returned her remaining focus to the movie. The large and dangerous dinosaurs had gotten free and were now terrorizing the humans in the park. Although she still couldn't really appreciate the extinct-yet-very-much-alive-creatures aspect of the story, the idea of a bunch of man-eating monsters chasing you through an abandoned theme park was patently terrifying. Before she knew it she had backed into Hale's embrace, trembling and jumping only in response to the movie.

Finally the survivors escaped the island and Carter turned the lights on. "See guys, dinosaurs." She was grinning widely.

"I don't know, Pixie, seemed a little far-fetched to me." Ash stretched as he stood from the chair he'd been lounging in.

Before Carter could retort, Lynne spoke up. "I rather liked it, Carter, but it was a little frightening."

Ash snorted. "If you say so, Lynne. I'm sure Lucero won't mind if you want to stay here tonight. We'll protect you from dinosaurs."

Scattered chuckles filled the room. Lynne pouted and snuggled closer to Lucero. "Don't make an offer you're not prepared to keep," Lucero shot back at Ash, before placing a light kiss on Lynne's head. The laughs redoubled while Ash groaned theatrically.

Sienna felt Hale's arms tighten around her. "You can stay too, if you want. Wouldn't want you dealing with nightmares of those raptors alone."

She flushed lightly. "I'll be fine. We've got Defense against the Dark Arts first thing tomorrow anyway. I'll see you then."

Hale nuzzled her hair, prompting another flush from Sienna, before releasing her. "Alright. Sleep well, Sienna."

"You too." She smiled back at him. Then she, Freja, and Kiki made their way out of the dormitory while Carter stayed to help Latharn take down the projector.

Soon Sienna was back in her own dormitory, rich sapphire replaced by bright teal and warm bronze. She felt an irrational urge to check under her bed for raptors before climbing under the covers, but forced herself to put the thought aside. She'd fought Dementors and Death Eaters for goodness' sake. Even if a raptor did sneak into their dormitory, Sienna was confident her stunning spells would be far more effective than the sticks and pans those poor kids in the movie had. With that comforting thought, Sienna let her eyes drift shut.

_When she opened her eyes, Sienna found herself staring at a familiar river. As had become her custom, she walked into it to wait for the familiar golden koi to swim toward her. As it drew abreast of her, it stopped._

_"You haven't stopped to talk to me since the first time we met," Sienna remarked in surprise._

_"Much has changed since then. You've changed." It said softly._

_Sienna thought for a moment. "I don't think I've changed."_

_"You're not scared. You helped lead your new friends to victory this year. You've uncovered lost history." As the koi listed each one, Sienna could see the images vivid in her memory. "However, you have almost reached your destination. When you reach the source of the river, what will you do?"_

_"I suppose I'll find enlightenment and transform into a dragon, like you." Sienna couldn't really imagine how that would happen, but it seemed like a reasonable response. The koi only chuckled._

_"Your destiny lies ahead. Do not be led astray by fool's gold. Keep seeking until you find gold." The koi began swimming again._

_Sienna watched it thoughtfully. "I have a question for you before you go." The koi stopped obligingly and Sienna waded toward it. "Atlantis is proud that it has avoided conflict since the fall of the Atlantean civilization. They consider their separation from the world to be a victory. They think they've found gold. I think it's fool's gold."_

_Although the koi didn't have a face to speak of, Sienna could sense a feeling of satisfaction from it. "And if you're right? What comes next?"_

_Sienna thought about it. Even after the koi had continued its journey, Sienna stood in the river, wondering about this new puzzle. Even if she was right, what could she do? When she turned back to the bank, she saw a cloaked figure watching her, its hood pulled low to hide its face. Sienna stumbled back, trying to put distance between herself and the spy. She was running, running away from the river. She looked back and still it stood there, watching. She ran faster until the ground beneath her gave way. She was falling. She looked up and there was the spy, watching her fall._

Sienna bolted awake, covered in sweat and breathing hard, as if she'd truly been running. She walked into the bathroom and washed her face. Her image in the mirror was disheveled and pale. The spy was catching up to her.

She shook her head firmly, trying to dispel the dream from her mind. That one had been so much clearer than any dream she'd had since the beginning of the year.

Knowing she'd be unable to get back to sleep, Sienna resolved to dress and make her way to the courtyard to get started on homework. She returned to her bed and began to gather her things. As she turned to leave, something on her side table caught her eye. It took Sienna a moment to figure out what had distracted her. The table had its normal contents: a glass of water, a small tin of treats for Funky, her hairbrush, the silver picture frame with its picture of Hogwarts.

Sienna snatched up the frame. The image of Hogwarts was clear within it, just as it had looked the day Sienna first saw it from the lake. As she stared at the image in shock, the picture began to change. She saw the Dark Mark over the castle, as it had been at the end of the last year, the night Dumbledore had died. Then, as she watched, the castle caught fire. Sienna's eyes widened as she watched the flames consume Hogwarts. The edges of the picture caught fire, burning inward until there was nothing left. The frame was well and truly empty now.

_Harry._ She had to talk to Harry. She ran out of the dormitory and out onto the grounds. As she ran, she rifled through the charms on her bracelet, searching for the mirror that was her only link to the outside world. Finally she forced her feet to stop so that she could examine the bracelet more closely.

Her panic grew as she combed through the charms again. "Where is it?" She muttered to herself. " _Accio mirror_ ," She finally snarled, pointing her wand toward the bracelet. When nothing happened, she felt panic morph into terror.

There was no denying it—her mirror was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **It's the beginning of the end guys. There are only a few chapters left and we move fast from here. Buckle up and enjoy!**


	13. The Spy Unmasked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry everyone for the delay on this chapter. You'll still get a new one this weekend, so don't fret. Let me know your reaction when the mask comes off.

"Ok, calm down." Sienna told herself quietly. No one had known she had the mirror, so how could someone have taken it? Had the spy found out? Maybe this is what he'd learned ahead of time, pleasing Voldemort. But even if the spy did know, how could he have gotten the charm? Sienna hardly ever took the bracelet off, really only to shower, sleep, or play Quidditch. Whoever had taken it must have either snuck into her dormitory or into the locker rooms during the last match.

Sienna shook herself. This line of thinking wasn't helpful. The spy clearly hadn't wanted Sienna to know that Hogwarts was in danger, and yet she did. Finding the mirror wasn't nearly as important as finding a way to help her friends. Dumbledore's gift had given her a warning, but she still had to get out of Atlantis and to Hogwarts.

_The portal._ Sienna drew in a sharp breath. That's right, she did know a way to get out of the school. She could help lead Atlantis to fight for Hogwarts. This could be the school's opportunity to finally take a stand against evil.

Her mind made up, Sienna raced back into the palace and up the stairs to the fourth floor. "Midas, I need to speak with the headmistress," She panted, clutching a stitch in her side.

"Miss Sinclair, it is dreadfully early. I must ask you to return later."

"No!" Sienna screamed. "I have to speak to her now! It's an emergency. Please."

Behind the statue, a doorway slid open. Professor Drenyiv stood there in a dressing gown, looking bemused. "Miss Sinclair? What are you yelling about, especially at this hour?"

"I have to see Professor Fontayre!" Sienna could feel her voice breaking. "Please, it's an emergency. People are dying."

Drenyiv's silver eyebrows shot up into her hair. "I'm not sure what could cause anyone at Atlantis to die at this time of morning. Can you tell me what's going on?"

Sienna chewed her lip for a moment, but decided quickly. "Voldemort has attacked Hogwarts. The school is besieged. We have to help them, professor."

"And you know this how?" Drenyiv's voice was calm and even, making Sienna even more upset.

"Dumbledore gave me an empty picture frame in his will but this morning it showed Hogwarts on fire with the Dark Mark over it. Voldemort has come to destroy the school. My friends are there. Dumbledore wanted me to go to them."

Drenyiv looked thoughtful for a moment. "Albus was never as subtle as he thought he was. It seems rather hard to misinterpret that sign if you're right. What do you think you can do?"

"I need to see the headmistress. She can lead a group to help. Atlantis has the best students and teachers in the world. Even a small group of us could be the difference between victory and defeat!"

Drenyiv almost laughed. "Even if she were willing, how would we get there? Even Ariel is bound here until the train leaves next month."

Sienna considered for a long moment. She hadn't wanted to reveal her knowledge of the portal if possible. But it now seemed there was no choice, and Drenyiv appeared to have known Dumbledore. "There's a way out in the ruins: an ancient magical gateway to the surface. Freja and I discovered it. Once we're on the other side we can Apparate."

Drenyiv stared at Sienna in shock. "Come on." She muttered finally, leading Sienna back up the hall toward Fontayre's office. "I don't know what Albus was thinking, but he was rather good at chess. Maybe I underestimated you."

Sienna had no idea what that meant, but this was the second time her wizened History of Magic professor had used Dumbledore's name. "Professor, how do you know Dumbledore?"

Drenyiv actually chuckled this time. "Don't you know? All old people know each other. And Albus and I, well, let's just say we've lived long lives by any standards."

Sienna didn't have an opportunity to respond, as they'd reached the Headmistress's office. Drenyiv knocked twice and entered. "Ariel, I'm sorry to disturb you so early but there's a matter of some urgency."

They walked into the circular antechamber and waited until Fontayre descended from one of the hidden staircases. "Anastasia, please, what is going on here?"

"Things in the war have escalated, and it appears that Albus wanted to ensure Miss Sinclair was aware when they did."

Fontayre gave a great groan that sounded strange coming from the elegant old witch. "Honestly that man." She shook her head before turning to Sienna. "Alright Miss Sinclair, what is going on?"

Sienna told Fontayre of the picture frame and her vision. Before she could mention the portal, Drenyiv caught her eye and gave a small shake of her head. Sienna didn't say anything about it.

"Miss Sinclair, there is no way for us to leave this school. How exactly do you propose we go and help your friends?"

"But what if there were, Professor Fontayre? If I could find a way, would you help me?"

Fontayre laughed. "It is quite impossible for us to leave. However, even if you did find a way, no one would be leaving this school. You are a talented student, so surely you remember the lesson from the ruins? This school has survived by remaining neutral in millennia worth of wars. Powers rise and fall, but we have remained. It is not our role to decide which side is right in any given war. Our graduates and teachers can do as they please, but we try to instill an understanding and acceptance of the inevitability of the future in our students."

Sienna gaped at her. "That's ridiculous! Atlantis has the brightest students in the world and you're trying to prevent them from making a difference? The koi was right!"

"The koi?" Drenyiv asked quickly, looking surprised.

"The golden koi from the legend. It said many koi reach the source of the river but they would never become dragons. They think they've found enlightenment just by getting there. You want your students to become exceptional, but you don't want them to actually do anything once they get there. Survival isn't good enough!" Sienna felt hot tears in her eyes and her voice broke. "The koi told me it had been waiting for me. Maybe this is why. We need more dragons in the world and fewer fish burdened down with fool's gold."

Both professors stared at Sienna, stunned. Fontayre's voice was cold when she spoke. "Young lady, I believed you to be worthy of your place here. However, it is clear that you do not understand or appreciate the values our school is sworn to uphold. You will be in detention every week until the end of term, and you will not be allowed to return to Atlantis in any capacity afterward. Get back to your dormitory. I never want to hear a word of this again."

Sienna felt as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over her. They weren't going to help. She was alone. She walked out and past the koi pond in a daze. It was only when she reached the door back to the stairs that Drenyiv spoke. "Miss Sinclair, if I may offer my own opinion." Sienna looked at her, eyes glazed. "I daresay Albus and the koi showed immense wisdom when they expected greatness from you. Whatever you choose to do now, you have already spoken words that ought to have been said long ago."

Sienna stared at her, shocked. Drenyiv smiled gently. "I too was disappointed when I first heard the story of the fall of Atlantis. I regret to say that in all my years here, I have never had the nerve to admit it. You have done well. Albus would have been proud." Sienna watched as Drenyiv stepped back inside the hall and closed the door, leaving Sienna standing at the top of the staircase.

Sienna eventually forced herself to walk down to the dining hall. She found the hall nearly empty. She sat, staring down at the plates of food on the table. Fontayre wasn't going to help. Even worse, she had declared in no uncertain terms that Sienna and likely her children as well wouldn't be welcome back at Atlantis after the year ended. Her eyes swam.

She had no idea how long she'd been sitting there when Lynne slid onto the bench across from her. "Good morning, Sienna," Lynne said cheerily. When Sienna didn't answer, Lynne turned a focused gaze on her, brow furrowed. "Sienna? Are you alright? You look pale."

There was something about Lynne that always seemed soothing to Sienna. She wanted nothing more than to tell Lynne everything. "My… my friends are in danger." She said quietly. "The war is getting worse and my school, Hogwarts, is under attack."

Lynne gasped. "Is there anything we can do?"

Sienna smiled sadly. Leave it to Lynne to ignore questions of how or why and immediately look for a way to help. "Fontayre won't send help. She says Atlantis won't get involved."

Lynne shook her head. "No, no. Not Madam Fontayre. Is there anything we can do to help?"

Sienna stared at her. "Lynne, it's a war. This is dangerous."

"But you want to go help. I'm no less of an adult than you are. If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named wins this war, it will affect all of us, not just you. If I can help, I will."

Sienna felt a smile spread slowly over her face. "I can get us there, maybe. Even just two of us will be helpful, especially since you know some healing."

"Two? _Mon amie_ , you jest." Lynne laughed. "I suspect everyone in our class will come along once we explain. We could probably get some of the younger students and Olympians too if we tried."

Sienna gaped at her. "Lynne, we could get expelled for this."

Lynne shrugged. "We have learned plenty. If we are expelled, we will sit our N.E.W.T.s at Beauxbatons or Ilvermorny or Hogwarts. Now, when were you planning to leave? Tonight?"

Sienna chewed her lip. "That'll be too late. Can we leave before classes?"

Lynne frowned. "We won't have enough time to gather ourselves and supplies. Perhaps lunch? I for one would appreciate a final Defense against the Dark Arts class before we battle Death Eaters."

Sienna groaned. "We could be too late."

"Sienna, classes will start in under an hour and not all of our classmates are even awake. We cannot get everyone together and then sneak out of the palace before class without being noticed. However, we can spread the word and get everyone ready. You need to lay low, or else Fontayre will suspect something and find a way to stop us."

Sienna nodded unwillingly. She knew Lynne was right. They began planning as the school slowly trickled in to breakfast. "Sienna, do you know where the portal leads? How will we get from there to the school?"

Sienna frowned at Lynne. "I assumed we'd Apparate to Hogsmeade and then walk."

"We have never been to Hogsmeade. It is dangerous to Apparate to a place you have never been, and you cannot lead all of us. We need to Apparate somewhere more of us have visited."

Sienna thought for a moment. "London? How many people do you think have been to Diagon Alley?"

Lynne thought for a moment. "I have, and I assume King has as well. The three should be enough, and others may have been there too. That's a good idea. How will we travel from London to Hogwarts?"

"Broom." Sienna answered at once. "It will take us several hours, but I once flew from the school to London on a thestral, so I know it's possible."

Lynne nodded. "I can let everyone know to bring brooms. We will need gloves to keep us warm as well."

Sienna smiled. "This might work."

"What are you two ladies talking about?" Ash smirked as he slid into the seat next to Sienna.

"Planning a dangerous adventure. Want to come?" Sienna grinned at him.

Ash looked surprised for a moment before he grinned back. "Sounds great. When do we start?"

"Lunch."

Soon the three were joined by most of their class. As usual Carter was late, but Hale had also not arrived yet. Sienna frowned. She'd wanted his help with the planning. However, even when the group rose to make their way to class, Hale hadn't arrived. Sienna packed a small napkin with breakfast for him, and followed her classmates to Defense against the Dark Arts.

The seventh years were distracted throughout class. Hale had arrived just before class began, so Sienna hadn't been able to talk to him about the plan. Instead of listening to Rathi, Sienna found herself flipping through her textbook, looking for useful counterspells that might be necessary in the upcoming fight. She tried to avoid thinking about what might be happening at Hogwarts.

When the seventh years split up for their advanced combat classes, Sienna muttered to Carter and Lynne, "Grab your brooms and stay in your combat clothes after class. We'll meet at the Quidditch pitch."

They nodded and walked away to spread the message. Sienna walked with Freja and Kiki to Dueling, the three talking in whispers about what to expect that afternoon. Lynne had, of course, been correct. Even Kiki and Sil were ready to accompany them. Sienna had been surprised at Kiki's insistence on coming, but the petite girl had responded coldly that she would be dishonoring her family if she had the opportunity to fight dark wizards and chose not to.

They arrived a few moments before Finnétte. "Sienna," Hale said quietly, pulling her aside. "What's going on?"

"I'll explain more after class. Suffice it to say, Hogwarts is under attack and we're going to help them."

Hale had a strange expression, white-faced and wide-eyed. "How do you know?" He whispered.

Sienna shrugged. "Dumbledore."

Before Hale could respond, Finnétte entered the room and called the class to order. Sienna noticed that she and her classmates weren't fighting all out. Instead, it looked like most of the class was saving their strength, knowing that they'd need it all before long.

To Sienna it felt as though the morning had lasted forever. When the bell finally rang, she turned quickly to hurry out to the pitch, but Hale grabbed her arm and pulled her into an empty classroom. "Hale, what are you doing? We don't have much time. We have to go."

"Where exactly are we going?" He asked quietly.

"I told you. We're going to Hogwarts." Sienna stared at him exasperated.

"I thought the portal was sealed?"

"It was but Freja and I discovered the incantation to open it and—" Sienna stopped suddenly, staring at Hale. "How did you know about the portal?"

"I overheard you and Freja." He waved a hand, as if to brush off the question. "But I still don't understand why you think Hogwarts is in trouble."

Sienna frowned at him. "I told you, Dumbledore made sure I'd know."

Hale growled. "How many ways did that meddlesome old man have of getting messages through our enchantments here?"

Sienna repeated his words silently, her eyes wide. "Hale, what are you talking about?"

"Sienna, you can't leave. None of you can. Ugh, he told me this might happen. I thought I'd solved it all." Hale sat heavily on a nearby desk, his head in his hands.

Her face pale, Sienna raised her wand. " _Accio mirror_." Hale moved quickly, but he couldn't prevent the small charm from escaping his pocket.

She caught the charm and stared at it. Even in miniature, Sienna could see that the glass had been shattered. " _You_ " She breathed, looking up at him. "It was you all along. You were trying to distract me. When he said the plan was ahead of schedule, it was right after I'd agreed to go out with you."

Hale looked pained. "Sienna it's not like that. Please, you have to listen to me."

Sienna felt her eyes fill with tears and spoke over him. "The other week when you set up that picnic, you were waiting for me to fall asleep, weren't you? That's when you stole the mirror. I thought you cared about me! You've been feeding information to Voldemort!" She shrieked.

Hale flushed. "What are you talking about?! Of course I haven't! My father wanted to know about you, and he said You-Know-Who was trying to kill you! He said someone would try to lure you from the school!"

Sienna scoffed at him. "Come off it. Janus has been feeding information to Voldemort since day one."

Hale's reddened skin went deathly pale. "How do you know that name?"

"I told you, Janus is a Death Eater and has been feeding information to Voldemort. You thought he was trying to help me? Your father wants to keep me locked up here safe so he can kill my friends and family more easily! I bet he even told you I was coming this year and told you to keep me busy. That's what all this was, right? You keeping me busy?"

Hale looked faint as he shook his head slowly. "It may have started like that but… Sienna, I do care about you. And my father made me. You have to understand. He said we could be a family if I just helped him." Hale was crying too now as he begged. "You have to believe me. We can fix this, but you can't go. You have to stay here. If you go they'll kill you."

She glared at him, feeling her heart shatter in her chest. "I loved you. But I was always a game for you, a challenge your dad set, wasn't I? _I_ will not betray my friends. They're out there fighting. If we can't win, I'll die with them." With a flick of her wand, she bound Hale in ropes. "I can't have you trying to stop us. Goodbye Hale." Another flick and he was unconscious.

Sienna locked the door behind her and hurried to meet up with her classmates, feeling tears sliding down her cheeks. When she reached the pitch, she found all eight assembled. "Where's Hale?" Ash asked just as Lynne squealed, "Sienna, are you alright?"

Sienna forced her voice to stay steady. "Hale isn't coming. We need to leave now." She began to walk, heading in the direction of the ruins. "King, do you think you can replicate the bubble shields the professors made during the fieldtrip?"

Latharn grinned wickedly. "Easily."

"Good," Sienna nodded. "Demonstrate for us once and we'll see who else can get it without practice."

Sienna and Freja were both able to conjure the bubbles on the first try. The group of seventh years moved quickly under their protective domes. Sienna had been impressed by the grandeur of the ocean above them during the fieldtrip, but now that she was the one holding it at bay, she felt afraid.

It seemed to take forever for them to reach the ruins. Sienna could barely contain her impatience. However, when the wall appeared in front of them, Freja took charge, leading the group to the underground storage rooms and then to the small chamber holding the archway. She stood in front of it, breathing deeply, before she began to recite the ancient language of the Atlanteans. The chant was ominous as her voice rose and fell like the sea. She fell silent and nothing happened for a moment. Then the archway blazed with a brilliant light. Latharn stepped forward and muttered a few words.

"What did you do?" Sienna asked quickly.

"We don't want it closing us out. We'll need to get back in this way eventually. That spell should hold the gate open until we come back to close it."

Sienna nodded, grateful for his foresight. Taking a deep breath she stepped through the portal.

On the other side, Sienna found a large cave, barely visible in the light of the gateway. She stepped away from the portal to allow her classmates to enter behind her. Sienna conjured a few floating lights to try to get a better idea of where they were.

The cave was huge. Great pillars stood throughout the room where the enormous stalagmites had met one of the hundreds of stalactites hanging from the high ceiling. Sienna heard gasps behind her as one by one, her friends stepped into the chamber.

Once everyone had passed through the gateway, Lynne whispered, "What do we do now?" Her voice echoed through the chamber, like thousands of tiny beings mocking them.

Sienna looked around. "We need to find the exit. We need to make sure we know where we are and how to get back here so that we can return to the gate once this is over. Someone should mark a path back to the gateway as we walk. That way we can retrace our steps. Freja, do you know a spell that can help us find the surface?"

Freja nodded and cast a complex spell. Suddenly, streams of silver were visible in the air above them. Sienna stared at them for a moment. "Air currents," Carter exclaimed in surprise, pointing at the movement of the silver wisps. "They should be moving away from the entrance. We can follow them"

Freja and Carter led the group from the large chamber and into a complex series of passages. At the back of the group, Sil created a trail of glowing moss along the floor of the cave that they could follow on the way back.

After almost an hour, Carter gasped. "Is that a light?" Her voice was loud after the long quiet, but Sienna turned to look where she was pointing. Sure enough, alongside the soft silver of the air current was a pinprick of gold. The group hurried forward, watching in relief as the glimmer grew. Finally they emerged onto low grey cliffs, blinded by the dazzling sun reflecting off a brilliantly blue-green sea.

"We're back on Crete!" Freja exclaimed in surprise as she took in their surroundings. Sienna looked at her quizzically. "We're under the ruins of Knossos. Those tunnels were the old labyrinth. You know, the place the Minotaur was supposed to have lived? I wonder," she gasped. "I wonder if the young men and women who left Greece for the labyrinth were going to Atlantis."

Sienna shook her head. "We can puzzle that out later, Freja. We need to get to London. It appears to be mid-afternoon. We have to get to Hogwarts as soon as possible. Everyone, in your Apparition groups."

The students arranged themselves as planned. It turned out that only Lynne, Latharn, and Sienna had been to Diagon Alley, so each one would take two of their classmates with them when they Apparated. Ash and Freja moved to hold onto Sienna's arms. "On three," Sienna commanded. "One, two, three!" She turned, feeling as if she were being squeezed through a tube of space.

When the sensation passed, Sienna blinked at the familiar sight that greeted her. Diagon Alley was nearly empty just as it had been the last time she visited. Many of the shops were boarded up, and the few wizards hurrying about their business didn't seem the least surprised at the sudden appearance of nine young wizards and witches.

Sienna began to direct her classmates into place. "We'll need to fly quickly. Everyone needs a Disillusionment charm before we go, then we'll stay in formation. Carter, you and King have the fastest brooms, so you'll take the position of outside scouts. I know the way so I'll take forward. Kiki, you're the best Duelist of the year so you take the back with Ash. Lynne, Lucero, Freja, and Sil, you guys need to stay in the middle. Keep a careful watch for anything abnormal. You guys are the only ones with healing skills, so you need to stay safe at all cost."

"Sienna!" Carter called sharply. "What's going on over there?"

Sienna turned to see Carter pointing at Gringotts. A disturbance had gathered a large crowd in front of the marble building. Sienna jogged over to see a knot of reporters surrounding one very distressed goblin standing in front of the mangled doors of the bank.

"Seven eyewitnesses claim they saw a dragon break through these doors this morning and begin flying north. What does the bank have to say?"

"I assure you," the goblin said glumly, "We are investigating the rumors."

"I heard that Harry Potter himself was sighted just before the dragon escaped. Was Gringotts able to apprehend the fugitive?"

Sienna ignored the goblin's denials. She knew Harry had been planning to break into the bank. It seemed he'd succeeded. But if that had only been earlier today, she couldn't be far behind him. She ran back to her friends. "We're not too late. Harry is on his way north right now. He's on his way back to Hogwarts which means Who-Know-Who will be headed that way soon. I doubt we can outfly a dragon, but we can try."

Her companions nodded, their faces serious, and they swung up onto their brooms. Sienna tapped herself on the head, the Disillusionment charm leaving the odd feeling of a cold egg cracked over one's head. Once the rest of the group had similarly faded into the background, Sienna kicked off from the ground and soared up into the air. As she rose above the buildings, she took another look at the remains of the Gringotts façade. She smiled. The goblins were going to have a horrible time convincing anyone that the dragon wasn't real now.

Sienna called out behind her, and shot forward, setting a fast pace northward. She saw a shifting silhouette streak out in front and to one side of her before dropping back to follow her. Sienna kept her face pointed resolutely toward the horizon. They had to make it on time.

After a few hours, the sprawl of London and its suburbs had given way to large stretches of countryside. Sienna was beginning to feel numb and stiff, but she pressed forward, wishing they could fly faster. Unfortunately, the simple Cleansweeps that Lynne, Kiki, and Sil had borrowed from the school wouldn't be able to match a pace any faster than this.

Sienna sighed and scanned the full horizon, looking for any sign they were off course. Something far to the northwest caught her eye. A large bank of storm clouds were moving in from the sea. They looked unnaturally dark and ominous to Sienna. She frowned, then, using a spell to project her voice over the wind, called out, "Carter!"

One of the oddly flickering silhouettes appeared at once at her side. "What's up?"

"Do you see those clouds? They don't look natural to me. Can you fly over and check them out? If it's nothing to worry about, send up green sparks and we'll do the same to guide you back to us. It might be the Death Eaters though. If so, send red sparks and we'll adjust course to meet you."

Carter nodded and sped off. Sienna kept her heading due north for another long while. The sun was beginning to sink low toward the horizon when a shower of red sparks appeared against the backdrop of the storm. Sienna shot her own set of red sparks and veered left, heading directly toward the clouds.

"Why are we adjusting course?" Latharn shouted from beside her.

"Something is up there. Carter went to check it out and just sent a message for us to come meet her. We'll find out what's going on soon."

The group flew in their new northwesterly heading until the light had well and truly disappeared. Every twenty minutes or so, Sienna threw up a small stream of sparks, which was answered by more sparks, growing darker and more numerous with each burst. Whatever Carter had found, it worried her. At least, Sienna thought glumly, she knew Carter was alright.

Finally, after they'd been flying in the silence and darkness for what felt like hours, Sienna's sparks were answered by Carter herself, having evidently removed her Disillusionment charm when night fell. "Sienna, good. This is bad. Or, I think it is. Please let it not be what I think it is."

Sienna removed her own charm. "What do you think it is though?"

Carter's grimace was clear in the light of the full moon. "Come take a look. You and Freja."

Sienna frowned, but beckoned Freja forward. The three flew into the edge of the cloudbank. A dark forest stretched beneath them but it was into the middle of the storm that Carter pointed. Freja gasped.

Sienna wasn't sure what she was seeing. The clouds were writhing in tall columns, with smaller columns branching up and down to the ground. They almost appeared like limbs in the way they moved. And the clouds themselves were odd—too thick to be air, they acted more like a liquid, suspended in midair. And at the top of the nearer column, there were two glowing points of light, almost like eyes. The lights blinked.

Sienna felt her eyes widen. "Bloody hell that's not what I think it is, is it?" She looked grimly toward the other two. Freja nodded once, looking decidedly pale. "We need to talk to the others."

Sienna spun her broomstick around and led the way back to where the other six were still huddled in the air. "We have a problem," She breathed when she'd gathered the others around her. "That's not a storm. It's Cetos—two of them."


	14. The Last Enemy

_"We have a problem," Sienna breathed when she'd gathered the others around her. "That's not a storm. It's Cetos—two of them."_

Kiki squeaked and Latharn cursed loudly. Most of the others wore some version of a vaguely ill expression. "It's not just that." Carter's voice was strained. She looked apologetic when Sienna quirked an eyebrow at her. "I've been watching them for well over an hour now, even before they got to that forest. There are cloaked people with them. Death Eaters, I think, based on the stories I've heard. I counted about a dozen, but it was hard to tell. I think," here she paused, taking a long tremulous breath. "I think the Death Eaters are leading the Cetos to the battle, Sienna."

Sienna swore. Ash, however, frowned. "How exactly would Voldemort have gotten the Cetos to take sides in a war between wizards? That seems out of character for them. They don't usually involve themselves in the affairs of mortals, do they?"

Kiki was the one who answered after a moment's thought. "In Japanese folklore, the _kamikaze_ are the ones that drove the Mongols away from our shores. The Mongols were irreligious while the Japanese, especially the non-magical ones, worshiped the spirits of nature including the sea. We know the Cetos turned on the Atlanteans because the king stopped worshiping them and tried to harness them instead. Maybe Voldemort promised to honor them again?"

Freja nodded slowly. "He may also have convinced them that his rule over Muggles will make them stop throwing trash in the ocean. I'd heard that the litter in the ocean had been making the Cetos restless for decades now."

"That doesn't answer the question of what we do!" Latharn's voice was pitched higher than normal and his eyes were wide. "We can't take down the Cetos! It took all the wizards in the school to keep it from being destroyed. What can nine teenagers do?"

Sienna was silent for a long while, cognizant of every eye on her as she stared at the clouds. "I don't think we can defeat them, but . . . maybe we can convince them to turn around." She steeled her face and turned back to the others. "Here's the plan: Carter, King, you two have the fastest brooms. I need you to create a wall of fire just to the northeast of the Cetos. If possible, make it something magical that won't spread out of control and burn the forest. We simply want to make the Cetos stop going that way." Carter and Latharn nodded slowly, faces set, if still somewhat nauseated.

"Freja, we can't fight them, but we might be able to make a better show of honor than the Death Eaters did. You're the only one here who speaks any Atlantean. If you recite the Prayer for Safe Passage, preferably while summoning laurels or olive branches or something, you might get their attention. If they look like they're going to attack, get the hell out of there. Understand?" Freja looked positively faint, but she gave a squeak that might have been agreement.

"Sil, I want you to stay back among the trees. Keep an eye out for anyone who needs healing and let us know if any of the Death Eaters try to escape around or through the fire. You can jump into the fight in a pinch, but you're one of our best healers and the only one in the year who doesn't take any dueling." Sil gave a terse nod, but said nothing.

"Everyone else, you're with me. We'll be trying to take down the Death Eaters. Hopefully, if we can incapacitate them, there will be nothing driving the Cetos toward Hogwarts."

Sienna cast one final look around her circle of friends. "Everyone, please stay safe." She swallowed a hard lump that seemed to have stuck in her throat. "I'll see you all on the other side."

Without another word, Sienna dove toward the forest below. A whoosh of wind behind her told her that the others had followed. They slowed as they passed under the cover of the branches. At the moment, they had an advantage over the Death Eaters who hopefully didn't know they were there. Sienna flew slowly closer toward where the Cetos towered over the trees. She figured the Death Eaters would be nearby.

There, in front of her, Sienna caught a glimpse of movement lit by the moonlight streaming from a gap in the trees. She crept closer, hoping to get a clear shot before the cloaked figure knew she was there. Finally, she found an opening. A silent stunning spell hit him in the back. However, in the darkness, the spell streaking from her wand had created a clear trail toward her.

Sienna hurled herself to the ground, a streak of green illuminating her broom as it swept through where her body had been moments before.

Sienna crept toward the source of the spell, hoping to get a clear shot. Around her, the woods were still quiet. Her classmates must have been rather far away from her. She hoped desperately that the Death Eaters were only in pairs as she continued to creep forward.

A bang sounded somewhere far to her right. A sudden movement in the bushes in front of her and to the left made Sienna swing her wand there. A flick and the bush burst into flames.

A cloaked figure hurtled from behind the bush, left fully visible in the light of the fire as he attempted to pinpoint the source of the spell. A clever estimate forced Sienna to send up a shield charm to block the curse he sent toward her.

She sent another stunning spell, but he deflected, turning another curse on her instead. Sienna dodged and set alight another bush on her foe's other side, so that he couldn't move further from the light. He growled and responded in kind.

The two stood there for several minutes, trading spells in silence as each tried to move away from the firelight that was now blossoming around their battle.

Finally, the figure in front of her faltered, the slightest movement betraying his distraction. Sienna hit him squarely with a stunning spell, just as a voice screamed her name.

She turned, as if in slow motion to see a great werewolf bearing down on her. It was already too close for her to fire off a spell.

Just as she raised her arms in a desperate attempt to hold it off, a weight hit her roughly from the side, pushing her to the ground just as the werewolf leapt.

A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the air. Sienna lay there, shocked and afraid as she stared into wide chocolate eyes set into skin that was much too pale. A horrible squelching sound cut through her shock as the werewolf raised its claws over and over.

Sienna raised her wand, still too stunned to have formed a thought of what to do. A brilliant flash of light and a bang and the werewolf was flying through the air. It hit a tree several yards away with a crunch and sank motionless to the ground.

Sienna sat up, dazed, while her hands worked of their own accord trying to stop the bleeding from the jagged gouges that had ripped through sapphire robes. She murmured a spell to close the wounds, but nothing happened. As if from a dream, Sienna remembered Madam Pomfrey explaining to a distraught Weasley family that Bill's wounds wouldn't seal as they'd been inflicted by a werewolf.

A tortured cry escaped her throat. "Sil! Lucero! Help!"

Hale laughed weakly, his eyes glittering despite the blood that had splattered his face. "I made it. I didn't think I'd make it in time."

Sienna shook her head, willing him to silence as she conjured bandages that soaked through almost as soon as she pressed them to the lacerations. "You're badly wounded. I can't stop the bleeding. _Sil!_ How did you get here anyway? How did you find us?"

His mouth quirked into a small smirk that quickly morphed into a grimace. "You were mad, but not so mad that you'd take off your present."

Sienna stared at him for a moment before realization hit her. _The charm._ "You put a tracer on me back in October. I'm such an idiot."

Hale smiled, very gently. "Aren't you glad I did? You'd be dead otherwise."

"Yeah but you will be soon if I can't get help. _Lucero!_ " She screamed again, her eyes prickling.

Hale chuckled weakly. "Better me than you. Sienna," he said her name so tenderly, she felt her breath catch and her vision began to swim. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I love you. But this," he nodded weakly toward the blood that had begun to pool around them. "This might be the one thing I could do to make it up to you."

Sienna shook her head, hot tears falling from her eyes. "You could have stunned him and helped us defend Hogwarts. You could have had your whole life to make it up to me." Her voice broke as his breath faltered, his broken and bloody body trembling in her arms. "You could have lived."

"I love you." He sighed. His body gave one last great shudder and he was still.

"Sil! Lucero! ANYBODY!" Sienna screamed like she'd never screamed before, reaching desperately for Hale's throat, feeling for a pulse.

Running footsteps crackled through the undergrowth. Two cloaked figures appeared from one direction, wands raised to point at her, while Kiki stumbled into view on her other side. She erected a hasty shield spell as she ran toward Sienna.

Kiki was several meters away when her face turned toward Hale. Her eyes widened and she looked at Sienna, a silent plea for hope. Sienna looked down, unable to meet the eyes of this girl who'd loved Hale for so long and had now lost him forever.

Kiki's howl of pain split the night like a thunderclap.

Sienna looked up in alarm, worried she'd been attacked, but instead she saw Kiki, wand drawn, and looking murderous as she began to chant in a strange guttural language Sienna didn't recognize. As her incantation grew louder, a brilliant purple-y light shone from her. Rather than illuminating their surroundings, it cast them into a deep shadow as if all light was being sucked toward Kiki. All eyes were glued to the small girl, the battle nearly forgotten as her face and body began to change. Her hair grew long and flew around her as her face became pointed and harsh. A pair of black feathered wings unfolded behind her as Kiki began to levitate.

One instant Kiki looked angelic and peaceful, then her eyes snapped open to reveal blackness, sucking all light into them. She screamed, a shrieking inhuman cry, and spun to the Death Eaters who were staring at her in shock. A bolt of black lightning erupted from her fingers, catching the first hooded figure and slamming him into the tree behind him. His body convulsed once and was eerily still.

She turned to the other figure, who had begun running, and shot the same weird energy toward him as well.

Her wings beat against the air, and she rose. The werewolf behind her had staggered to his feet, but she didn't even turn her head toward him as she blasted him too.

She rose higher, over the trees, and Sienna could barely see as she began shooting lightning down into the woods. Sienna heard a scream, then another.

The looming figure of one of the Cetos turned toward the brilliant figure of Kiki, but she began shooting her black lightning at it too. A low, pained bellow reverberated around them. The lightning was blasting sizzling holes into the liquid body of the Cetos. It screamed again and then turned, moving quickly away from them and back west toward the ocean.

Kiki began to descend, back to where Sienna still sat, cradling Hale's lifeless form. Suddenly the light burned even brighter and Kiki shrieked again before falling to the ground, mere meters from Sienna. Dark swirling lines decorated her skin, like snaking tattoos around her horribly still face.

"Sienna!" She looked up and there, in front of her, were Sil and Lucero, running into the clearing with the others behind them. Sil threw himself to the ground next to her. "Where are you injured?"

Sienna stared at him for a moment before remembering that she was covered in Hale's blood. Her eyes filled with tears again as she shook her head. "It's not mine."

Sil nodded and put a hand tentatively to Hale's throat. He pulled away without making eye contact. Sienna had already checked, but she couldn't bring herself to let go of him.

"Sil, get over here." Lucero's voice was strained. "Carter! King!"

Sienna watched, confused as Sil and Carter both hurried to where Lucero knelt over Kiki's unmoving form. "What's wrong with her? What happened to her skin?"

Carter gasped. "Holy shit…" She turned to Sienna, eyes wide. "Did you see what happened?" Sienna nodded, slowly, distantly. She had seen, yes, but Kiki was so still now. And Hale, Hale had promised to always wake up if she was waiting.

"Sienna, tell me what you saw!" Carter's eyes were molten as she stared into Sienna's.

Her voice hollow, Sienna told her about the odd language and the light and the black lightning. If it were possible, Carter's eyes grew wider and her face even more pale.

" _Mal'ach Ha'Mavett_ " Carter's voice was barely louder than a whisper, but it carried in the silent forest. "Angel of Death. It's one of the darkest spells in existence. I've never heard of someone actually using it. She—" Carter's voice broke. "She invited the power of a demon into her so that she could fight. In exchange she gave it her magic, her soul, and her life."

Everyone was quiet as they stared down at the bodies of their two classmates, one bloodied and mangled and the other peaceful but marked by the signature of evil incarnate.

"Sienna," She looked up, slowly, to see a very green Ash holding out his hand to her. "You need to let him go. You can't do anything for him now."

Ever so slowly, she felt him untangling her fingers from the bloodied rags, and then he lifted Hale's body from her lap. Face grim, Lucero waved his wand, displacing a mass of earth from the forest floor to create a large grave. Gently, Ash lowered Hale's body into the pit, just as Sil walked over cradling Kiki's. Once both bodies had been laid carefully into the grave and covered with black cloths, Lucero gently returned the earth to the pit, smoothing it over the bodies of their comrades.

Her eyes bright with tears, Lynne conjured two large stones which she set over the bare earth. Sienna stood and walked closer, so that she could see what Lynne was carving. The first stone was placed over Kiki.

_Tsukiko Ryuzo_

_September 23, 1979 – May 1, 1998_

_"At long last I am leaving: in rainless skies, a cool moon—pure is my heart"_ [1]

Sienna's eyes were damp as she turned to watch Lynne carving the second stone. After the second line, Lynne paused and stared up at Sienna. "What should it say?"

Sienna shook her head, her eyes squeezed shut against the tears that threatened to come again. Finally she forced a whisper. "You knew him longer than I did."

She heard a soft voice before warm hands began to rub circles on her back. When Sienna opened her eyes, Lynne had just placed the gravestone above where Hale's body lay.

_Hale Nidhogg Lamont_

_October 31, 1979 – May 1, 1998_

_"Death must be so beautiful. . . To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace."_ [2]

Sienna wept, burying her face in her hands as Ash pulled her into a hug. She knew the others were watching. She had led them here, where two of her friends had died. She'd come to save lives, not spend them.

"Sienna," Carter's voice was quiet but firm. "What was it you told Johanna at that Quidditch match? 'Even if you'd hit the Bludger yourself you would have needed to keep your wits about you. You're the leader no matter what.' We knew the risks coming here. But we need to get to your school, don't we? And this time, only you can lead us."

Sienna looked up at her. Carter looked tired but firm. The same look of quiet determination was on every face around her. Sienna swallowed hard. They'd prevented the Cetos from reaching Hogwarts, but there was still a war going on.

Taking a deep breath, Sienna stepped back from Ash, who gave her a tiny smile of encouragement. She raised her wand " _Accio broomstick_." Her broom flew to her hand. Looking around at her friends, Sienna forced her voice to stay steady. "Grab your brooms. We have to go."

Carter smiled. The remaining eight mounted and kicked off, Sienna leading them northeast to regain their course. Every so often, she cast a quick spell to reorient her direction toward Hogsmeade. They flew in silence, but Sienna could feel her heart drumming. What time was it? Would they make it?

It felt like an eternity later when she saw light far to the north. Sienna called to Carter, who immediately darted forward to scout. She was back within ten minutes. "It's a castle and it's swarming with people. Oh, and it's on fire. I think we're here."

Sienna nodded once and gathered her friends. "The battle is underway. Follow me over the outer perimeter. We'll drop down in the courtyard. I want to try to find Harry, if possible, but our first priority is to hold the Death Eaters back. Do whatever you think is necessary. Sil, Lucero, be careful. I don't know where they'll have the injured, but see if you can find them. Hogwarts students don't take healing so having trained healers on hand will be a huge help. Now, let's go."

They nodded grimly and followed Sienna toward the castle. As it loomed over the surrounding countryside, Sienna could see hordes of shadowed figures and beasts crawling around the grounds like ants in a disturbed anthill. Swallowing sharply, she dove toward the main gates where she immediately dismounted and drew her wand. A great acromantula came hurtling from her left, and she barely had time to raise her wand before a stunning spell stopped it a meter from her.

"You might want your sword for some of these," Latharn said quickly, before turning to blast off another couple stunners.

Sienna quickly summoned her sword. She'd never tried to cast spells while her wand was encased in the blade, but in theory it should work. She turned to see a cloaked Death Eater raise his wand toward her knot of friends.

" _Petrificus totalus!_ " She roared and was pleased to see that the body bind was perfectly effective. Smiling slightly, she turned to follow her friends into the castle.

Through the open doors, she could see that the Great Hall had become a makeshift triage. "Sil, Lucero, through there! Lynne, keep the enemy out of the hall!"

They nodded and thundered away. Sienna frowned as she stared around. The fight was going on all around her, but she couldn't see Harry, Ron, or Hermione. She frowned but was forced to jump back into motion when more acromantula barreled through the grand doors.

She leapt forward, slicing and stunning at any spiders in reach. A howl behind her gave her time to turn before another werewolf, probably Greyback, leapt toward her. She ducked under his arm and turned, slashing through his chest. His inhuman eyes were wide as he fell.

Sienna didn't have time to process the man she'd just killed, as more Death Eaters were swarming into the Entrance Hall with their allies.

She danced among them, sword flying. Few wizards knew how to fight in close range, and she maintained the ability to shield or stun from a distance, so Sienna was able to fight her way neatly across the floor.

After knocking another black robed figure to the floor, Sienna caught sight of red hair near the Great Hall. Ginny was locked in combat with a Death Eater. Sienna began to move toward her as another cloaked figure to her left turned toward the younger girl as well.

Sienna saw the figure raise its wand, almost in slow motion, and she knew instinctively what was coming. As she ran forward, trying to put herself between her friend and her enemy, Sienna could feel a great pounding in her ears. She couldn't get her own spell off in time to incapacitate the Death Eater, and a shield would do no good if that was a killing curse on his tongue. She couldn't let Ginny die. It would kill Harry if Ginny died here.

Sienna was nearly in the path of the spell now as the incantation rolled off her foe's lips.

_"You could have lived."_ Her own words crashed into her like bricks. In that moment she made a decision. She lifted her blade just as the flash of green bolted toward her. It collided with the sword, which shattered, the wave of energy hurling her up into the air. She felt a sickening impact before the world went black.

. . .

It was quiet. It hadn't been quiet before had it?

Sienna tried to blink her eyes open, but the light was blinding. She groaned and squeezed them shut. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was a bolt of green and the feeling of flying. She tried to shift, but her head felt like it was splitting open.

"Sienna, stay still. You're pretty beat up. Don't try to move."

_Ash._ That was Ash's voice. Sienna tried again to open her eyes. It still hurt but not as much. Slowly she blinked them open, dazzled by the light. Once she'd adjusted she recognized the familiar ceiling in the Hospital Wing. She tried to shift her head so she could see Ash, but that was still much too painful.

"I said not to move. Jeez, you're impossible. Here," Brown hair disheveled, Ash leaned over her and gently propped her up on a few pillows so she could see more than the ceiling. Every bed she could see was occupied.

"Thanks." Her voice sounded like a whisper, hoarse and quiet. "The others?"

"They're all fine," he assured her. "Lucero, Lynne, and Sil have been helping your Madam Pomfrey with the wounded. There are a lot of them, so they've been busy. I think the others are helping with rebuilding efforts. A bunch of people came to see you, but you've been unconscious all day. Sil promised you were in no danger, so the others decided they'd come back when you woke."

"You're here." Sienna observed quietly.

Ash had an odd expression, torn between a smile and a grimace. "I am. Someone had to stay."

"You hate hospitals."

Ash stared at her, then laughed. "Well, it seemed like a worthy cause. Someone had to stay with you after all, and the others could do way more to help than I could."

Sienna felt her lips tilt into a weak smile before she groaned again, dizziness spilling over her. Ash stood up and grabbed something off a table out of view. "Here, drink this if you can. It'll help with the pain."

She carefully sipped at the potion as Ash held the goblet to her lips. She managed to get about half of it down, with only a bit spilling. "Thanks."

He smiled at her and resumed his seat. "How are you doing?"

She frowned. "That depends. What happened while I was unconscious?"

Ash tapped his finger to his chin. "Several people are dead, but no one else from Atlantis. Your Harry Potter went and died and then wasn't dead, and Voldemort died by his own killing curse. I heard someone swear you saved the Chosen One's girlfriend though. What's up with that?"

Sienna felt sick with so many different emotions rolling over her. Oh yes. That's how she'd ended up in this bed. She'd taken a killing curse for Ginny. "My wand? Is it ok?"

Ash grimaced. "Uh, no, I don't think it is. Whatever hit you burned it to a crisp. Here."

He handed over the charred scrap of ash. Even as Sienna held it, she could feel that her connection to magic through it was severed. It was just a piece of wood now. She nodded once and set it down before she could cry over burned wood.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Sienna glanced at him, but Ash's face didn't betray what he was thinking about. "Do I want to talk about what?"

He shrugged. "Any of it I guess, but I was specifically thinking of the fact that we left Hale at Atlantis and the next thing any of us knows, you're holding his body and covered in his blood."

Sienna bit her lip, hard, tears begging to spill out. "He'd been feeding information on me and the rest of Atlantis to Voldemort through his dad. He tried to stop us from leaving. He stole from me and even admitted that he had pursued me because his dad had asked him to. Then he tracked us using a tracer he'd put on me months ago. When he got there, he saved my life, but he didn't even try to fight. He didn't help me with his wounds. He just let himself die and told me it was supposed to make up for everything." Her voice broke from the effort of speaking through her tears.

Ash whistled and leaned back in his chair. He was very quiet, his face twisted as though he were thinking hard. Finally he sighed. "I've known Hale a long time. We were friends first year when we were still Trojans. He, well, let's just say he didn't have a happy life. I knew his dad was an ass, even then. Hale didn't hear from his dad for the first time until he was fifteen. I remember because he was so excited when he got that owl. At the time, his dad wanted to hear about his life and Atlantis—"

Sienna snorted. "Yeah, because he wanted information. That would have been right after Voldemort came back too."

Ash just shrugged. "I thought it was weird too, but Hale was so happy that I couldn't say anything. I never met the guy. Honestly, I don't know if Hale ever did either."

"Then why was Hale telling him anything? Why did he trust him? Couldn't he see that Janus was using him?" Sienna's hands clenched at the sheets of the bed.

Ash frowned. "I don't think you get it, Sienna. Hale grew up hating his father because his mother hated the man. But when his father reached out and asked to know about his life? I'm pretty sure his mom never asked questions about his time at Atlantis." Sienna made a small questioning noise, and Ash sighed. "Hale doesn't talk about her—you know that—but I met the woman once. I was in Europe, summer after fifth year, and went to visit Hale in Copenhagen. She was…"

Ash stopped, his brow furrowed as he searched for the right words. "She was polite enough, but she was _just_ polite and to him, _her son_ , as if he were a stranger. I never once saw her touch him at all. It was weird."

Sienna felt tears in her eyes and Ash sighed again. "I wish he were here. There's a lot I don't understand either. And really, this is something he should be telling you, not me."

Before she could respond to that, the doors to the wing burst open. "Sienna!" She turned her head too fast, making it throb and her eyes water. Through the haze of her tears she saw black hair bobbing toward her.

"Harry," she smiled tightly as he embraced her. "I heard you did it, beat him. I'm so proud."

He grinned at her. "Thanks Sienna. But really, I can't believe you're here. I tried to call you last night when we got here, but the mirror never showed you."

Sienna grimaced. "Yeah, my mirror got wrecked. We were on the way by that point regardless. Remember the frame Dumbledore gave me? It showed me Hogwarts on fire yesterday morning. It gave us enough warning to get here."

Harry blinked and then broke into a laugh. "All of his gifts made sense in the end, I suppose." He stopped laughing and his face took on a serious expression. "Sienna, I heard what you did for Ginny. You're the reason she's alive." He leaned forward and wrapped her up in another hug. "Thank you." He whispered, his voice breaking.

Sienna blinked back her tears. "You know I'd do anything for you."

Harry smiled and nodded. "Please tell me if there's ever anything I can do for you."

She frowned. "You said you found Ollivander, right? Do you think he has a stash of wands somewhere? That killing curse fried my wand."

Harry pursed his lip. "I'll have to ask. I'll send Kreacher to check. You need to rest now, okay?"

She nodded and watched as he walked out of the room. She hardly noticed as Ash settled beside her and began rubbing her shoulder. "So you and the Chosen One, Harry Potter?"

Sienna shut her eyes tightly, fighting the tears welling behind her lids. "There's no 'and' nor will there be. You heard him: I saved his girlfriend's life."

Ash's hand gripped her shoulder tightly, a single point that she could focus on to keep from drifting away. "It's their loss. Harry apparently doesn't see you and your feelings, and Hale was so exhausted from fighting his own demons that he didn't have the strength left to fight for you. Listen to me: you'll be alright in the end."

Sienna buried her head in his shoulder as her tears came in earnest. He held her gently as she cried, before gently laying her back into her pillows. "You're still exhausted. Here," he tipped the rest of her potion into her mouth. "This will help with the pain. And this," he gave her a sip of another potion. "This will help you sleep. Once you're rested, we'll get back to school."

Sienna smiled, her vision still glassy from her tears, before a heavy weariness settled over her. She yawned deeply. Ash was still smiling down at her. That was the last thing she saw before darkness shrouded her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] _"Tsui ni yuku minazuki suzushi mune kiyoshi"_ a haiku on death by the sixteenth century Japanese poet Senseki.
> 
> [2] Sylvia Plath The Bell Jar
> 
> **AN: Wow guys, we've almost reached the end now. We've got one chapter and the epilogue to go. I hope you've enjoyed this journey with me. If you've read this far, I'd love to know what you think. Did you guess the spy? Are you impressed that Kiki took out a whole group of Death Eater's alone? I've always thought there must be a large amount of "dark magic" we never got to hear about in the books. 3 Unforgivable Curses for the whole world? Nah, seems unlikely.**
> 
> **Anyway, for those of you who've come this far, thank you.**


	15. The Riverhead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Wow guys. This is the last chapter. I can't believe we made it. I started this journey in 2011, and now, nine years later, it ends. I hope you enjoyed the trip. Thank you for reading. I'll be posting an epilogue in a few days, so look out for it. I may also post a series of one-shots with stories that I didn't have time to include. If I do, I'll put the name of the story in the notes here.**

When Sienna awoke the next day, the pain had receded to a barely noticeable pressure in her skull. Ash was still at her bedside, but the other Atlantis students were nearby as well. Just as Ash had told her, they were all there and alright. Carter had sustained a couple broken bones while Freja had been bleeding rather badly, but they'd been patched up long before Sienna regained consciousness the first time. Now, everyone else was well and ready to return to Atlantis.

Before Sienna could rise and begin to dress for her discharge from the Hospital Wing, the doors opened to another crowd. "Sienna!" Hermione's voice preceded her bushy hair and Sienna felt herself wrapped into a tight hug. Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Luna followed, all smiling.

Sienna laughed. "Hi guys, I'm glad to see you're all alright. I never saw any of you during the battle, so I didn't have any way of knowing."

"Well, except for me you didn't." Ginny's voice was soft and gentler than Sienna had ever heard it. "I didn't see what happened, but I saw you hit the wall, and others filled me in later. You saved my life." Her voice shook as she pulled Sienna into another hug. "Thank you so much. Mum says you're an honorary Weasley for life."

Sienna was pretty sure no one could hear the strangled sob intermingled with her chuckle. "Of course Ginny. I'm just glad I was fast enough."

As Ginny moved away from her, Sienna looked up to see a small man with wispy white hair who'd entered at the back of the party. Her eyes widened a bit and she glanced at Harry quickly, before greeting him. "Mr. Ollivander. Thank you for coming."

He stepped forward slowly, moving to sit down next to her bed. "Miss Sienna Sinclair. Ash, eleven and a quarter inches, swishy if I remember correctly. And a hair from a fine unicorn mare. Harry tells me your wand caught a killing curse? It's a wonder you survived."

Sienna nodded, smiling sadly. "It was a good wand. I'm sorry to have to replace it."

Ollivander nodded sagely and pulled a set of boxes from the bag he'd been carrying. "Indeed, it is always a loss when a witch or wizard must find a new wand. Unfortunately, I have very few left to me, but I brought those that I have. Let's see if we can find one suitable for you, eh? First," he held out a short wand that reminded Sienna instantly of her old one. "This is the only other ash wand I have in stock. I don't know how well it will work for you. It's dragon heartstring."

Sienna took it and flicked, a few dull red sparks falling from the tip. She frowned. "I can use it, but the power is weaker. It doesn't feel… right." She handed it back to him and received another, lighter hued wand. This one too produced only a faint rain of sparks. "Finding a wand was easier when I couldn't do much magic at all. The wand doing much of anything was a good sign then."

Ollivander nodded. "Adult wizards and witches often have a harder time bonding to a wand. I believe it comes from their increased rigidity as they age. Perhaps this walnut wand? I've found that many Atlantis students prefer walnut."

The long walnut wand didn't suit her either. As she passed the wand back to Ollivander, she leaned over the boxes spread across the bed. Something in her arm tingled. She frowned and looked down at the boxes, sweeping her hand through the air above them.

"What's in that box?" She asked, pointing at one of the leather boxes.

Ollivander looked between her and the box thoughtfully. "When Mr. Potter told me of your injury, I wondered if this wand might not be a fit for you. I've had it for a long while without finding a match." He opened the box and placed the wand into her hand.

Sienna lifted it and felt a swooping sensation. A smile curved her lips as brilliant sparks shot out in a rainbow of colors. She sighed, "That felt, dare I say, better than my old wand?"

Ollivander nodded. "Your old ash wand fit you very well, especially as a child. Fir demands a bit more purpose from its owners. I think you've grown into this wand over the past few years. Incidentally, the unicorn hair in this wand came from the sire of the one who created your old wand."

Sienna blinked in surprise. "Is that normal?"

Ollivander's bulbous eyes glinted in the light. "Too few wizards must replace their wands. I do not know."

Sienna looked down in wonder at the wand. It was a hair shorter than the old one and the slightest bit stiffer. She waved it once more, calling a glass of water to her hand, but the force of the spell caused a bit of the water to slosh. She laughed. "I may have to get used to the new wand. It channels magic more easily than my old one."

Ollivander nodded. "That, on the other hand, I can confirm from my experience. You and your new wand must form a bond. Be patient."

Sienna nodded and thanked Ollivander before Kreacher took the old man back to Ron's Aunt Muriel's place, where he'd been recovering. Sienna rose from her bed and carefully dressed in her clean sparring clothes. She had to stare at them for a while to convince herself that the blood was truly gone. Even after she believed it, she wasn't sure if she felt better for it. Hale really was gone, even after he'd promised to always come back to her. A cruel voice inside her told her that he'd never intended to keep the promise, that it had been another lie told to manipulate her. It was only her friends returning to the room that kept her from crying again.

They made an odd procession as they walked the ruined halls of the school. Blood and broken stone had replaced laughter in the cold corridors. When they reached the Entrance Hall, Sienna asked her friends to wait a moment while she stepped into the Great Hall. "I want to pay my respects. I'm sure I know many people who… who are in there."

Sienna's eyes burned as she looked around the ruined hall. The bodies throughout the room had been cleaned and dressed for the families who'd be removing them today. She saw Tonks and Lupin, together even in death; the small Gryffindor boy, Colin Creevey, who'd followed Harry around for so long; and she saw the Weasley family, gathered around the still form of Fred. Ron clapped her on the shoulder as he and Ginny passed, returning to their family. Mrs. Weasley saw where they'd come from and came toward her.

"Sienna, dear. You… thank you so much." It felt odd to see Mrs. Weasley on the verge of tears like that, but Sienna could feel them mirrored in her own eyes. The older woman gave her a long hug. "You're always welcome at the Burrow. Maybe you can come by for a bit this summer. You'll have to let me know what your favorite meal is and I'll whip it up for you."

Sienna smiled and hugged Mrs. Weasley again. "I'll do that. I'm so sorry about Fred."

The matronly woman went very still. Finally she spoke hesitantly, "Very few families are untouched by tragedy right now. I can only be grateful that we didn't lose more."

Sienna nodded, and Mrs. Weasley returned to her vigil. As Sienna rejoined her classmates and continued the walk to the gates, they met Professor McGonagall hurrying toward them.

"Ah, Miss Sinclair, I'm glad I caught you and your friends. I wanted to formally thank you all for your services to the school."

"Of course professor. I would never have let Hogwarts fall. My friends were kind enough to join me."

McGonagall nodded quickly. "Of course. Well, if any of you need anything from us at Hogwarts, do let me know. I had word of a magical storm heading this way that didn't make it. There were also sightings of figures on broom in the area, so I suspect we have you to thank for more than just your work here at the school."

Sienna flushed a little at the praise. Then, behind her, Lynne spoke. "Professor, might I ask a question? Will your school still be holding N.E.W.T.s this year for the seventh years?"

McGonagall looked at her curiously. "I think some students may not be ready to take their exams at this time due to the circumstances. However, I imagine that we will hold exams for any who wish to take them. May I ask why you're interested?"

Lynne answered in a light voice that didn't match her words at all. "Well, it is rather likely we will not be allowed to stay at Atlantis when we return. If that is the case, I was wondering whether you would permit us to sit our examinations here."

McGonagall looked sharply at Sienna, who cringed. "Miss Sinclair?"

"Headmistress Fontayre expressly forbade us from getting involved. She has already banned me and my descendants from ever returning to Atlantis after graduation. Since I left anyway, I am confident I will be expelled. However I don't know if she'll expel all of us, or just me."

McGonagall snorted. "Ariel has never embraced flexibility. Any of you who need to return for your exams may. However, if you give me just a moment I will send a letter to Ariel with you. Please, wait a moment."

With a flick of her wand, McGonagall summoned parchment, quill, and ink as well as a small floating writing table. After a few minutes filled with the scratch of quill on parchment, McGonagall sealed the letter and handed it to Sienna. "Hopefully this will prevent Ariel from doing anything rash. However, Sienna, please know that Hogwarts is happy to recognize your graduation and all eight of you are free to take your exams here."

Sienna took the letter and thanked her professor. The students continued their walk down to the winged boar gates. As they walked, Harry spoke quietly, "So what are you doing now?"

"We have to hope we're allowed to stay at Atlantis for the rest of the school year. If so, we'll take exams and be home in June as normal. If we're expelled, well, you heard McGonagall, we'll come here to take N.E.W.T.s."

"And afterwards?" Harry was giving her an odd look, and Sienna wasn't quite sure what to think of it.

"I'll come back to England and probably get a job with the Ministry. I was already thinking I might follow my father into the Department of International Magical Cooperation. I think I'm even more convinced of that now. The world is so much bigger than us. England is really very small. _Europe_ is really very small. There's a lot to do in the world, and we'll be much better off if countries are working together rather than facing the world alone."

Harry nodded slowly. Before he could respond, they found the group facing them beneath the shadow of the broken gates. Sienna swallowed hard. "It's time for us to go, I guess. We still have a couple hours of travel and tomorrow's Monday. Guys," she turned to Harry, Hermione, and Luna who had walked them down. "Stay safe. Voldemort is gone but that doesn't mean the war is fully behind us. You know, constant vigilance." She smiled.

Then, very slowly, Sienna turned away from Hogwarts, just as she had almost a year before, and instead looked toward her new friends. "Let's get home. Wouldn't want to deny Fontayre the pleasure of yelling at us any longer."

Ash snorted loudly while Carter gave a quick bark of laughter. Freja smiled weakly. "Everyone should know where we're going since we all arrived at the continent together. If you need help finding the cave entrance, grab an Apparition buddy." When nobody moved, Freja gave a quick countdown, before all eight students turned once and disappeared.

. . .

The trip through the cave was faster than it had been the first time. The moss that Sil had left growing was still glowing faintly to guide their steps. When they reached the gateway, Sienna paused. "Freja, you or King should go first. I'm still learning the new wand and this is a rather important spell to get right."

Freja stepped through the gate, while Ash clapped a hand on Sienna's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I've got the spell now too so I can take your spot." She smiled, grateful, and then followed Freja into the ruins of Atlantis.

Once everyone had passed into the ruined storeroom, Freja cast a quick spell to collapse the portal's magic. Together, they walked back out into the temple and down the narrow steps beyond. The city seemed much darker and more shadowy than Sienna remembered. Then again, she'd just seen the sun for the first time in months, so she wasn't surprised her eyes weren't adjusting well.

No one really spoke on the walk. There was nothing to say. As the great glowing dome over the school came into view ahead of them, Sienna felt her feet begin to drag. She didn't know what was going to happen, but nothing would be the same after they entered the school.

Sienna blinked in the relative brightness of the bubble once bare sand gave way to grass beneath her feet. She looked around to see her friends lowering their wands and smiling, relieved that they'd returned. Lynne let out a low breathless laugh, and the friends began walking toward the palace.

It almost felt like a normal weekend for a moment. Carter and Latharn had begun to argue in low voices while Lucero had an arm tight around Lynne's waist. However, Sienna was painfully aware of the differences: the lack of Kiki's dry chuckle and Hale's rare absence from her side. She steeled her jaw against a quiet sob that threatened to break free.

The small party reached the entrance hall just as Drenyiv crossed from the dining hall. Their old professor did a double-take upon seeing them. "My heavens!" She exclaimed, eyes wide. "Children, you're alright? And you're here!"

Sienna sighed. "Good afternoon professor. Yes, we're here and more or less alright. I think we need to see the Headmistress."

Drenyiv's mouth disappeared into a fine line. "Yes, I suppose you do." She summoned a pair of Patronuses, which darted off up the stairs. "We'll need your College Advisors as well. Where are Miss Ryuzo and Mr. Lamont?"

Sienna shut her eyes tightly, suddenly assaulted by the image of still bodies and bloodied robes. She heard a voice near her speak. "I believe that story should wait until we can discuss with the Headmistress. If you please, Professor?"

She felt a small hand take hers and opened her eyes to see Lynne leading her up the stairs. Sienna managed a small smile before taking careful breaths to slow her heartrate. Of course they'd have to explain to Fontayre what had happened, and, of the group, only Sienna had seen Kiki and Hale die. She felt herself trembling and was suddenly very grateful for Lynne's gentle hold.

The walk to the fourth floor felt longer than the one from the ruins. Sienna both dreaded their arrival and wished it would hurry up. When the group finally reached the door to Fontayre's study, they found Clannyte and Fischer waiting for them.

Professor Clannyte gave a loud cry and hurled herself into the group. "Oh my dears, you're alright! We were so worried."

Professor Fischer did a quick count and frowned. Drenyiv whispered something in his ear, and his frown deepened. "Come on," he said gruffly, opening the study door.

Sienna shuffled in with her classmates, feeling positively nauseous. She glanced back before the door closed and saw a golden koi peeking out of the water at her. It seemed almost to nod at her before the door shut, blocking her view.

" _Where_ were you?" Fontayre's usually calm voice sounded broken in its anger. "What were you _thinking_? You know the rules against leaving the school. It shouldn't even be _possible_!"

Sienna took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Professor, we had urgent business to attend to. As you know, England and much of Europe has been engaged in a war against blood purists and dark wizards. As legal adults, we could not sit by and watch our homes be torn apart any longer." Speaking quickly to prevent Fontayre from interrupting, Sienna told their story. She left out details of the gateway, but she did explain how her classmates had died. She didn't care about Fontayre, but Fischer and Clannyte would have known their students well and deserved to know what had happened. When she reached the end of the tale, Sienna quickly handed Fontayre the letter. "Hogwarts Headmistress Minerva McGonagall asked me to give you this letter."

Fontayre scowled at her before opening the letter. Her eyes grew darker as she read. Finally she thrust the letter toward Fischer who was closest and turned away. No one spoke until each of the teachers had read the letter. Sienna was feeling downright faint.

Clannyte was the first to break the silence. "Did… did you really face down Cetos?" Her voice was breathy and she looked almost as lightheaded as Sienna felt.

Freja nodded and opened her mouth a few times before speaking. "Kiki drove them back. They didn't try to harm us, but Death Eaters were pushing them toward Hogwarts. The school probably wouldn't exist if Kiki hadn't…" Her voice gave out. She struggled to speak for another moment before shaking her head sadly.

"Miss Sinclair," Fontayre appeared to have regained her ability to speak, and her voice was icy. "Since you seem to have found a way out of the school, you may pack your belongings and leave. I cannot allow you to remain here after tempting your classmates into a war that ultimately killed two of them."

A cry erupted from the other seventh years. Ash actually pulled Sienna behind him, while Carter and Latharn took threatening steps forward. "Headmistress, with all due respect," Freja's voice dripped venom, despite her polite words. "I discovered the route to the surface, King provided the spell that allowed us to leave the school, and it was Lynne who encouraged us all, including Sienna, to fight. If you ask her to leave, please know that we will all be leaving with her. No student has ever voluntarily withdrawn from Atlantis mid-semester. Do you really want your time as Headmistress to be marked by two deaths and eight students dropping out?"

Fontayre was very white. "Miss Melker, your work has always been stellar. If you apologize for your words immediately I will allow you to serve detentions for your disrespect and we will discuss this no further."

The two stared each other down, Freja looking as cold and commanding as Sienna had ever seen her. Finally, Fontayre slumped. "Every one of you is really ready to leave if I expel Miss Sinclair over this?"

Sienna watched in awe as every one of her classmates nodded. If possible, Fontayre looked even more defeated. "Fine. Every one of you will serve detention each weekend until end of term. Casey, Armin, please work together to determine an appropriate punishment for your students. I need to figure out what I'm going to say to the Ryuzos and Ms. Lamont. Students, dismissed."

Sienna was in shock as she followed her peers down the stairs and away from their professors. When they all reached the entrance hall, they stared at each other for a while without moving. Finally Carter spoke, "We should all go get cleaned up. Um," she looked off over their heads, as if trying to avoid making eye contact. "Would you guys mind if I crashed with you? I don't really want to be alone."

Latharn pulled her into a tight hug. Lynne bit her lip gently, "Maybe it would be best if we all found a different place to be tonight. I agree with Carter that I do not want to be alone, but I _really_ do not want to see the empty beds."

Sienna felt her chest constrict tightly. She hadn't even thought of Kiki's empty bed. Quiet murmurs of agreement echoed around her. Finally she forced herself to breathe. "If everyone's willing to camp out tonight, I know of a place."

Armed with a change of clothes and their bookbags, the remaining Elysian and Amazon seventh years met in the entrance hall less than an hour later. Sienna led the group to her little cave. It was a bit tight for eight, but far better than the dormitory. They conjured sleeping bags and sat down to try to catch up on work. Homework was almost soothing. It left no room to think, to process the events of the last three days.

After a few hours, Carter and Latharn slipped away to pilfer dinner for the group from the hall. They ate in silence, only really speaking when someone had a question regarding homework. It was late when, one by one, they began to drift off to sleep. Sienna spent a long time staring at the cave ceiling, wishing desperately that she could sleep as easily as she had the last time she had been here. She thought of Hale, gently working out the knots in her back, as he waited for her to fall asleep so he could steal her mirror. She felt her eyes prickle.

Sienna sat up and moved back to lean against the wall. She didn't want to think about Hale. She didn't want to think about anything that had happened. She looked around at her remaining classmates. Everyone was asleep. Lynne and Lucero had, at some point, replaced their individual sleeping bags with a large one that held them both. They had evidently fallen asleep while comforting one another. Sienna could just make out tear-tracks on Lynne's face in the light from the dome outside.

What she wouldn't give to still have someone there to comfort her. Hale… well, Hale had seemed to care, but even if he had survived, would he still be there with her, trying to comfort her? She didn't know, and she never would.

The tears began to fall, thick and fast, obscuring her vision. She cast a quick spell to silence her sobs before she let go and allowed herself to cry. Last week they'd been celebrating Quidditch. Now Sienna couldn't imagine caring about something so unimportant. Eventually they'd have to embrace normal life again—the war was over after all—but for the moment Sienna couldn't imagine things being normal. As they were all sleeping in a cave rather than beds, Sienna figured her classmates agreed with her. Sienna didn't know when, but eventually she fell asleep.

_She wasn't surprised when she turned to find the river. She was surprised to find that the koi was already waiting for her._

_"You've done well." It said softly, swimming slowly to stay abreast of her._

_"I don't know what you mean," Sienna said bitterly. "I led my friends to their deaths and for what? Atlantis hasn't changed. Fontayre hasn't changed."_

_The koi made a soft splashing noise that might have been a laugh. "Change doesn't happen in an instant. You set in motion a change that will take decades to come to fruition. But it will occur. Perhaps Fontayre did not change. Do you think you and each of your friends has come back from the battle the same person you were when you left? Change takes the form of the young man or woman who sees injustice and decides to grow into a person who fights it. Atlantis will change because you and your friends will raise children who refuse to let it stagnate. It is hard to see now, but do not fear—change will come."_

_Sienna sighed. "Was it worth it?"_

_The koi stared at her long and hard. "Your friends thought so. Both the ones who returned and those who did not. Who are you to decide the worth of their sacrifice?"_

_Sienna felt tears well up again. Rather than let them fall, she cast around for another conversation topic. "How did you know the spring wasn't the end of the journey? The other koi obviously thought it was."_

_This time, the koi sighed. "How did you know you wanted to change the world? I don't really have an answer either."_

_Sienna nodded. Neither spoke until Sienna asked slowly, "Do you mind if I swim with you? I'd like to see the spring."_

_The koi laughed again. "You already have. The only question that remains is whether or not you want to fly." Sienna watched as the koi slowly swam out of sight._

. . .

The last six weeks of the semester passed quickly. The seventh year Elysians and Amazons had always stuck together, but the tendency was now more pronounced than ever. All eight could be found together at almost all times, either in the library, at dinner, or in class. After the first week, they moved back to their own dormitories, but by some unspoken agreement, no one wanted to spend more time in the dormitories than absolutely necessary.

The day after their return, Clannyte and Fischer had gathered the group together to hand out detention assignments and ask that no one speak of their adventure to the other students. Apparently Fontayre didn't want to inspire any more revolutionaries. Although they had agreed, Sienna noticed that rumors of the war were spreading quickly within the school. Not for the first time, Sienna wondered just how many people at the school had snuck in connections with the outside world.

Sienna wasn't concerned by the rumors or pointing. She had dealt with worse at Hogwarts as Harry's friend. Instead she was surprised by just how supportive the students as a whole were being. The rest of the Amazon Quidditch team were the first to broach the topic. Johanna thanked them for going, as she'd apparently had a family member killed in the first wizarding war.

Slowly, others from the school found excuses to thank them as well. Soojae caught Sienna one day after lunch in the dining hall. "I heard what happened. I wish you'd had more time to prepare. I think most of the Olympians would have come with you. I would have at least. Voldemort was a threat to the whole world. You returned dignity to the school by fighting back."

Sienna blinked up at him, surprised. They'd never actually spoken before, at least not that she could remember. "Er, thanks, Soojae. But you know, we're all about to graduate. Then we'll really be in a position to make a change. If we keep fighting, maybe we can prevent something like this war from happening again."

Soojae looked thoughtful. "I suppose you're right. It's easy to forget about life after school, isn't it?"

Sienna walked away from the conversation thinking of the koi's last parting. They were about to leave Atlantis. They'd reached the riverhead. Now they just needed to take a deep breath and dive into the sky, trusting that they'd be able to fly.

. . .

June arrived soon, bringing with it exams. Sienna couldn't bring herself to be worried. She'd just fought Death Eaters and saved her romantic rival's life. The idea of being scared of an exam after all that was rather laughable.

The exams were exhausting, as promised, but Sienna found herself hoping they'd never end. Once the exams were complete, she and her classmates would be boarding the train back to the continent and then saying goodbye, possibly forever. It wasn't a happy thought.

On the night before the last exams, Carter and Latharn arrived late to the small library study room that the seventh years had claimed. Latharn looked a little pale while Carter was smiling widely. Lynne raised a delicate eyebrow.

"I have an announcement," Carter declared importantly. "I will be moving to Scotland after graduation. You see, King and I are engaged." She wiggled her fingers delicately to draw attention to the ring adorning her hand.

Lynne squealed and launched herself at the redhead. The others laughed and congratulated the two. "Why now?" Sienna heard Lucero ask Latharn quietly while the others were distracted.

"After everything that's happened, I don't want to risk missing the chance. I mean, we clearly can't count on tomorrow." Lucero clapped him on the back before rejoining the group.

Sienna smiled and hugged Carter again. The world was terrifying and dark at times, but at least there was still joy and hope for the future.

The good mood buoyed them all through the last of their exams the next day and the great feast in the evening. Sienna tried to focus on her friends and enjoy the last of their time together, but with the train leaving early the next morning, she found it hard to concentrate. It was their final night together. No one argued when Sil quietly suggested a final night camping.

Everyone had packed before they gathered in the cave. Conversation revolved around the exams and occasionally plans for a career after Atlantis. No one wanted to say goodbye, so no one did. They fell asleep after a long while, no one wanting their last night to end.

Morning came all too soon and the group made their way onto the train. It felt so different to Sienna. Her arrival at the school had been quiet and lonely, full of fear around the coming year. Now she was surrounded by friends. Rather than break into two compartments, a couple quick spells lengthened the benches until everyone could fit comfortably.

Sienna read her book while scratching behind Funky's ears. The small kitten that had accompanied her a year ago was now fully grown. Meanwhile, her classmates played games. They pretended it was another normal afternoon. No one was fooled.

When the train finally pulled into the station, Sienna was shocked to find it completely full. Wizards and witches wearing styles from all over the world crowded the platform, waiting to welcome back their children. Sienna disembarked with her friends, watching as one after another was pulled into the arms of family. She felt her breath catch. There would be no goodbyes now, she supposed.

"Sienna!" Eyes wide, Sienna turned to catch a mess of brown curls bolting toward her, followed by a smaller blonde.

"Sylvia! Stella! You're here." Sienna's voice cracked as she held onto her sisters like her life depended on it. "I'm so glad you're alright. I was worried about you."

"Your father sent me a message after You-Know-Who fell. We returned to England a few weeks ago." Sienna still had to look up to see into her mother's face. She was tall and beautiful as always, but her eyes were less distant than Sienna had ever seen them. She was looking at Sienna fully. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered, sweeping Sienna into a hug.

Surrounded by her family, Sienna felt a tear slip down her face. They were alright. They were together again. She looked around at her friends, each with their own family, and smiled. School was over, but life had only just begun. The time for swimming had passed. Now it was time to take flight.


	16. Epilogue

**Nineteen Years Later**

"You're sure you want to go to Hogwarts, not Atlantis? I bet if you turned up on the train with me, Headmistress Drenyiv would let you stay." Hale Calder grinned at his sister, sparkling violet eyes grinning from beneath a shock of pure white hair. He was dressed in the black robes of an Atlantis underclassman as he and his family stood on the bustling underground station to Atlantis School of Sorcery.

"Come off it, Hale. I told you, I want to go to Hogwarts. I'm gonna be a Ravenclaw like Mum. Plus Rose, Albus, and Jordan are all starting this year. You're older than our friends so you wouldn't have had classes with them anyway." Despite her cheery words, Diana was bouncing on her toes with ill-concealed nerves.

Sienna smiled as she watched her children bicker. She herself had never had the luxury to good-naturedly fight with her sisters growing up as she'd been more mother to them than sibling. She was glad in moments like this that her own children had a far more typical childhood. As they argued, Sienna noticed Diana's hair growing distinctly red.

"Dee, please take a breath before your hair actually starts smoking. We don't want you to go bald before your first day." Ash's eyes twinkled brightly as Diana scowled at him.

" _Daddy—_ " She whined as the other three laughed.

"Sienna! Ash!" A melodic voice made Sienna turn. There were her old classmates, Lynne, Lucero, Carter, and Latharn as well as their children. Lynne and Lucero had gotten engaged and married shortly after graduation, and their only child, Sophie, was a seventh year Amazon this year. Surrounding her were Carter and Latharn's five children. The eldest had already graduated from Atlantis while the next to youngest, Chris, was in Hale's year. The smallest of the children, a mischievous little girl named Jordan, was also starting Hogwarts with Diana.

"It's so good to see you," Sienna breathed as she hugged her friends. "The children have grown up so much. Sil will be joining us in a year or two right? Isn't his daughter eight or nine now?"

Lynne beamed. "Indeed! Then he won't have an excuse to go years without attending a reunion."

The others laughed. "He's busy and happy. Running the most successful magical hospital on the Mediterranean takes a lot of time." Ash grinned. Despite his busyness as an Auror, Ash had found plenty of time to keep up with Sil, his oldest living friend.

Sienna squeezed his hand tightly. "Does anyone know if Freja is ever planning to start a family? I know she's busy trying to become the youngest ever Headmistress of Atlantis after Drenyiv retires, but I'd have thought she'd settle down at some point."

Carter smirked, her eyes darting between Sienna and Ash. "Well, you did take Rene here away from her, so I doubt Freja will ever settle down now."

The older children, including Latharn and Lucero, roared with laughter as Sienna fought the familiar urge to bury her face in her hands. Even as an adult, she didn't take teasing well. Ash put an arm around her shoulder and chuckled softly. "Freja was the first to tell me to move to England and keep in touch with Sienna. I swear that woman knew my feelings before I did."

A clear whistle cut through the chatter of the station. "Alright everyone, on the train!" Sienna called over the conversation. She helped her son drag his trunk up into the nearest compartment. Nearby, Lynne and Sophie were speaking rapid-fire French while Carter ruffled each of her children's hair affectionately. The three fathers had moved back and were lost in their own conversations.

"Goodbye, Hale. You'll write to us with your college results, yes?" Hale nodded. Sienna had been thrilled when Drenyiv had announced that Atlantis would now send and receive mail with the outside world once a week. She was glad that almost two decades after her graduation, Atlantis was finally starting to take concrete steps to open up. It had been a long time since a golden koi had last spoken in her dreams, but its promise of change, slow but unrelenting, had been an inspiration to Sienna ever since.

As the train pulled out of the station, Sienna drew her youngest to her side. "You almost ready, Diana? In just two weeks you'll be on your own train with Jordan, Rose, and Albus. Are you excited?"

Diana looked up at her, her brow creased. Her sparkling eyes were much softer than her father and brother's, regardless of what color she had them take. "Do you think I made the right choice? Hale thought I'd go to Atlantis with him."

Sienna squatted down until she was the same height as her daughter. "Diana, honey, it's just a school. Atlantis is a very good school, and it's where I met your father, but I went to Hogwarts for years before that and both your Aunts went there. Either school would have been lucky to have you. But you know what? At the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is that you try your hardest and trust yourself."

Diana beamed and nodded once before rushing off to talk to Jordan about Hogwarts. Sienna straightened up smiling, as Ash walked over and wrapped his arm around her again. "She'll be fine. She's as strong as you were."

Sienna smiled fondly at her husband and then her daughter. Not everything had always gone the way she'd wanted it to in life, but everything had worked out in the end. And in two weeks she'd be seeing the rest of her friends, her _family_ , at King's Cross. Yes, all was well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **That's the end! Wow! I have published the first story in my collection of one-shots entitled Tales from Atlantis. If you enjoyed this story, check it out. If you have questions about backstories, what happens after Atlantis, etc., ask and you might get your question answered in Tales from Atlantis. Thanks for reading!**


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